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Some   Unsolved   Social   Problems 


OF   A 


UNIVERSITY  TOWN 


BY 


ARTHUR  EVANS  WOOD 

Assistant  Professor  Sociology 
university  of  michigan 


PRICE  $1.25 


Some   Unsolved    Social   Problems 


OF    A 


UNIVERSITY  TOWN 


BY 


ARTHUR  EVANS  WOOD 

Assistant  Professor  Sociology 
university  of  michigan 


PRICE  $1.25 


CoPYRIGHTEn    AND    PUBLISHED 
BY 

C.  W.  GRAHAM 

Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 

1920 


®o  Jig  Ptfe- 


ex 


"The  truth  is  that  poverty  is  unfitness,  but  in  a  social  and  not  a 
biological  sense.  That  is  to  say,  it  means  that  feeding,  housing,  fami- 
^  ly  life,  education  and  opportunity  are  far  below  the  standards  that 
the  social  type  calls  for,  and  that  their  existence  endangers  the  latter 
in  a  manner  analogous  to  that  in  which  the  presence  of  .inferior  cattle 
in  a  herd  endangers  the  biological  type.  They  threaten,  and  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  actually  bring  about,  a  general  degradation  of 
the  community,  through  ignorance,  inefficiency,  disease,  vice,  bad  gov- 
ernment, class  hatred,  (or,  still  worse,  class  servility  and  arrogance) 
and  so  on." 


Charles  Horton  Cooley. 


420'1'^'^ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Page 
Preface     3 

PART  I. 
Housing  Conditians. 

Chapter  I.     An  Earlier  Sui'\'cy 5 

Chapter  II.     The  Situation  m  1917 7 

Chapter  III.     Responsibility  and  Leadership 25 

PART  II. 
The  Public  Health. 

Chapter   I.     Infant   Mortality 31 

Chapter  II.     Tuberculosis   37 

Chapter  III.     Typhoid  Fever  and.  Other  Contagious  Diseases 43 

Chapter  IV.     Financial  Aspects  and  Further  Needs 52 

PART  in. 

Dependency — Public  and  Private  Charity. 

Chapter  I.     Public  Poor  Relief  in  Princeton 57 

Chapter  II.     The  Privately  Organized  Philanthropies 62 

Chapter   III.     Princeton   Cases   of  the   New  Jersey   Children's 

Home  Society 67 

Chapter  IV.     Defective  Types  70 

Chapter  V.     Summary  and  Suggestons  pertaining  to  Public  and 

Private  Charity   73 

Conclusion    75-76 


INDEX  TO  TABLES  AND  MAPS. 


Table  Page 

I  Characterization  of  Dwellings  Investigated,  with 
Number  of  Family  or  Non-Family  Groups  Ac- 
commodated,        8 

II  Distribution  of  Families  by  Race,  Number  of  Lodg- 
ers, and  Average  Number  of  Lodgers  per  Fami- 
ly,       9 

III  Number  of  Households  Keeping  Lodgers,  Number  of 

Lodgers,  and  Average  Number  of  Lodgers  for 
Each  Household  by  Racial  Groups, 9 

IV  Number  of  Dwellings,  Occupants,  and  Average  Num- 

ber    of     Occupants     per     Dwelling     by     Racial 
Groups,     10 

V  Number  of  Rooms,  Average  Number  of  Pei*sons  per 
Room,  Number  of  Sleeping  Rooms,  Average 
Number  Persons  per  Sleeping  Room  by 
Racial    Groups,    10 

VI  41  Instances  of  Congestion,  Showing  Numbers  in 
Families,  Lodgers,  Rooms,  and  Sleeping  Rooms 
by  Racial  Groups,   11-12 

VII     Summai-y  of  41  Cases  of  Greatest  Congestion, 12 

VIII  Mortality  Rates  for  Infants  Under  1  Year  and  for 
Children  Under  5  Years,  for  Princeton,  1910- 
1916,      31 

IX  Causes  of  Death  of  32  Infants  and  Children  Under 
5  Years  of  Age  in  Princeton,  1916,  Showing 
Race  of  Child,  and  Date  of  Death, 33 

X     Births,  and  Deaths  Under  1  Year  of  Age,  for  Whites, 

Negroes,  and  Italians,  for  Princeton,  1916,   34 

XI  Ratio  of  Child  (Under  5  Years,  but  Not  Under  1 
Year)  to  Infant  Deaths  (Under  1  Year)  1910- 
1916,      35 

XII     Child  and  Infant  Deaths  in  Princeton,  1916,  Accoi'd- 

ing  to  Months  in  Which  They  Occurred, 35 

XIII  Deaths  of  Children  Under  5  Years  of  Age,  and 
Death  Rates  per  1000  of  Child  Population  of 
that  Age,  in  9  New  Jersey  Cities  of  Population 
Between  Five  and  Nine  Thousand,  1914.  Also, 
general    Death    Rate, 36 

XIV  Deaths  from  Tuberculosis,  and  Death  Rates,  in 
Princeton,  1910  to  1916  (inclusive).  Also,  N. 
J.  Moi-tality  Rates  from  Tuberculosis,  1910- 
1914,    38 


XV  Per  Cent  of  Total  Deaths  which  Mortality  from  Tu- 
borculosus  Constitutes,  for  the  Borough  of  Prince- 
ton, and  for  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  1910-1915. 

Also,  for  Princeton  in  1916, 39 

XVI  Ago  Distribution  of  90  Cases  of  Tuberculosis  Reported 
to  the  Princeton  Board  of  Health  from  January 
1,  1912,  to  December  31,  1916, 40 

XVII  Tuberculosis  in  Princeton  and  10  other  New  Jersey 
Cities  of  Five  to  Ten  Thousand  Inhabitants,  No- 
vember 1,  1911,  to  December  31,  1916.  Also, 
Per  cent  of  Foreign  Bom  and  of  Negroes  in 
these  Cities  in  1915 40 

XVIII     Typhoid  Fever  Cases  and  Average  Number  per  10,000 
Mean  Population,  1910  to  1915,  for  Certain  New 

Jersey  Cities,    43 

XIX     Typhoid  Fever  Cases  in  Princeton,  1902  to  1916, 45 

XX  Number  of  Cases  and  Deaths  from  Certain  Diseases 
in  11  New  Jersey  Cities,  from  November  1,  1911, 
to  December  31,  1916, 49 

XXI     Statement  of   Total   Revenues   and   Sources   Thereof, 

also,  of  Per  Capita  Appropriations 

Princeton  Board  of  Health,  for  a  Series  of  Years,. .  .52 

XXII  Resources     and  Disbursements,     Public  Poor     Relief, 

Princeton,  1906-1917,   57 

XXIII  Amounts  and  Purposes  of  Disbursements  from  Bo- 

rough  Funds  for  Poor  Relief 1908  to   1917, 59 

XXIV  Appropriations  from  Private   Sources  for  Poor  Re- 

lief and  General  Social  Sei-\Mce,  1915-1916, 63 

XXV  Sho\\"ing  Causes  of  41  Investigations  in  40  Families 
by  N.  J.  Children's  Home  Society,  Disposition  of 
Cases;  also,  Race  of  Family, 68 

MAPS. 

I     Section  Covered  by  Study  of  Housing  Conditions, 77 

II  Borough  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  Showing  Ap- 
proximate Location  of  Residences  from  which 
Were  Reported  to  the  Local  Board  of  Health  90 
Cases  of  Tuberculosis,  from  January  1,  1912,  to 
December    31,    1916,     78 


PREFACE 

The  following  study  of  certain  community  problems  in  Prince- 
ton, New  Jersey  was  begxm  in  the  spring  of  1916  at  the  request  of  a 
committee  of  the  Town  Club,  a  social  welfare  organization  of  that 
community.  A  preliminary  investigation  was  first  made  which  was 
continued  a  year  latter  with  a  more  detailed  study  of  conditions  with 
special  reference  to  problems  of  Housing,  Public  Health  and  Depend- 
ency. Data  relating  to  these  topics  are  contained  in  the  following 
pages. 

Much  infoi-mation  was  collected  bearing  upon  other  topics  than 
the  ones  presented  in  this  volume,  especially  upon  Recreation,  Occupa- 
tions, .Schools,  Government,  the  Foreign  Born,  and  Negroes.  Data 
relating  to  these  subjects  are  to  be  found  scattered  through  the  pages 
of  this  study,  though  not  under  special  heading.  It  was  considered 
that  tha  material  concerning  Housing,  Public  Health,  and  Dependency 
was  the  most  important  from  the  point  of  view  of  community  welfai'e; 
hence,  attention  is  directed  mainly  to  these  subjects. 

Many  unavoidable  delays  have  occurred  in  the  publication  of  the 
study,  so  that  it  might  seem  not  entirely  to  reflect  present  conditions. 
The  writer  has  reason  to  believe,  however,  that  the  housing  situation 
remains  about  as  it  was  three  years  ago,  and  that  such  thoroughgoing 
measures  of  public  health,  as  are  suggested  in  this  study,  have  not 
been  undertaken.  If  such  be  the  case,  there  is  herein  suggested 
much  food  for  throught  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  dhe  community 
welfare  at  heart. 

Difficulity  was  encountered  in  compiling  the  vital  statistics  to 
be  found  in  Part  II.  This  was  due  in  part  to  variances  to  be 
found  between  the  records  of  the  State  and  Local  Boards  of  Health. 
It  was  also  due  to  frequent  lack  of  agreement  between  the  population 
estimates  of  the  Federal  and  State  Census,  and  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health.  These  differences  are  indicated  in  the  text,  and  where  com- 
munities ai*e  compared  the  same  source  is  taken  for  estim.ates  of  popu- 
lation. Where  data  for  morbidity  and  mortality  are  presented  their 
value  depends  upon  the  accuracy  of  reporting  cases  of  disease  and 
death. 

The  utility  of  such  a  community  study  depends  upon  follow-up 
work.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  public  spirit  and  generosity  in  Prin- 
ceton, and  this  study  is  put  forth  with  the  iliope  that  it  may  assist  and 
encoui-age  those  who  ai-e  working  for  the  improvement  of  their  com- 
munity. 


PART  I. 

HOUSING  CONDITIONS 

Chapter  I 

An  Earlier  Survey 

Inasmuch  as  an  extensive  report  was  made  upon  the  housing 
conditions  among  the  negro  employees  of  Princeton  University  sev- 
eral years  ago,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  preface  the  investigation 
made  more  recently  by  the  writer  with  an  account  of  the  earlier  sur- 
vey. This  report  on  conditions  among  university  employees  was  in 
three  parts:  One  section  was  by  Mr.  Bowen,  Sanitary  Inspector  of 
the  State  of  New  Jersey;  another  was  by  Mr.  Andrew  C.  Imbrie, 
Financial  Secretary  of  Princeton  University;  and  a  third  section  vvas 
by  Lucy  F.  Friday,  Sanitary  Inspector  of  the  University.  The  region 
covered  by  the  earlier  report  was  identical  with  that  covered  by  the 
writer  in  the  spring  of  1917;  viz.,  the  area  that  lies  within  the  limits 
of  Witherspoon  St.  on  the  East,  John  St.  on  the  West,  Nassau  St. 
on  the  South,  and  Leigh  Avenue  on  the  North. 

Mr.  Bowen's  report  covered  32  1  family  dwellings,  17  2  family 
dwellings,  and  5  tenement  houses.  The  following  is  a  summary  of 
the  findings: 


Cleanliness  of 
Yard 

Cleanliness  of 

Rooms  occupied 

by  University 

Employees 

Cleanliness  of 
Dwellings  outside 
of  rooms  occupied 

by  University 
Employees 

Excellent 

4  premises 
11  premises 
15  premises 
24  premises 

6  rooms 
19  rooms 
42  rooms 
19  rooms 

3  premises 

Good 

15  premises 

Fair 

21  premises 

Bad 

15  premises 

Total 

54  premises 

86  rooms 

54  premises 

Explanation  of  the  above  terms  is  made  in  the  following  quota- 
tion from  the   report: 

"The  terms  'excellent,'  'good,'  'fair,'  'bad,'  being  general,  are  not 
expected  to  convey  any  general  description,  but  are  merely  used  for 
sake  of  comparison.  The  term  'excellent,'  has  been  applied  to  rooms 
that  were  scrupulously  clean,  well  lighted  and  ventilated,  comfortably 
furnished,  and  supplied  with  facilities  for  proper  bathing  of  the  body. 
The  term  'good'  was  used  in  cases  where  the  rooms  were  reasonably 
clean,  but  showed  no  particular  neatness,  in  which  light  was  sufficient, 
ventilation  not  noticeably  neglected,  and  in  which  bathing  facilities 
were  available.  The  term  'fair'  was  given  to  rooms  not  cleanly 
swept,  too  much  and  too  wide  a  variety  of  floor  coverings,  bedding 


—     5  — 


not  invitingly  clean,  insufficient  light  and  ventilation,  because  of 
numerous  shades  and  curtains  covering  the  windows.  The  rooms 
designated  as  'bad'  were  unclean,  walls  covered  with  dirty  paper  or 
darkened  with  accumulated  smoke,  grecse  and  dust,  two  or  more 
shades  or  curtains  obscuring  the  light  from  each  window,  soiled 
hangings  covering  door  openings,  bedding  unclean,  no  facilities  for 
bathing,  rooms  supplied  with  useless  and  unnecessary  articles  of 
furniture,  serving  no  useful  purpose  in  sleeping  apartments,  over- 
crowding, and  air  impregnated  with  objectionable  odors,  due  to  the 
lack  of  cleanliness,  ventilation  and  light.  It  should  be  noted  that 
in  making  the  above  classification  a  reasonably  low  rather  than  too 
high  a  standard  was  set." 

In  regard  to  overcrowding  the  report  states: 

" overcrowding   was   found   to   be   frequent.      In    fact,    the 

result  of  the  inspection  shows  that  145  persons  were  lodged  in  86 
rooms  referreo  to  in   the  tabulations. 

Mr.   Bowen's  report  further  states: 

"Upon  the  whole  the  inspection  shows  that  the  buildings  in 
which  a  large  majority  of  employees  are  housed  are  not  constructed 
and  supplied  with  facilities  to  encourage  or  promote  cleanliness  in 
those  who  occupy  them,  nor  are  the  dwellings  maintained  in  a  man- 
ner  to   permit   hygienic   living   on   the    part    of   one    merely    stopping 

there    as    a    lodger there    were    a    number    of    dwellings 

situated  in  close  proximity  to  stables  and  their  filthy  fly-breeding 
manure  piles." 

Accompanying  this  report  of  Mr.  Bowen  were  two  additional 
reports,  one  by  Mr.  Imbrie,  and  the  other  by  Miss  Friday,  as  above 
stated.  Each  of  these  reports  confirmed  in  a  general  way  the  findings 
of  Mr.  Bowen,  and  recommended  that  the  University  begin  with  a 
policy  of  building  inexpensive  but  sanitary  domiciles  for  the  em- 
ployees. 

The  above  reports  were  typed  and  bqund  together,  but  the  volume 
had  only  a  very  limited  circulation.  Since  this  investigation  was 
made,  the  University  has  built  a  commodious  and  cleanly  building 
for  its  Greek  employees,  who  were  brought  in  to  take  the  places  of 
the  negroes,  who  are  no  longer  employed. 

Sewers  have  since  been  put  through  this  section  of  the  Borough, 
and  toilets  connected  with  them  installed;  but  aside  from  this  im- 
provement conditions  remain  very  much  as  they  were  when  the 
Bowen  investigation  was  made. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  emphasis  of  the  Bowen  report  was  per- 
haps somewhat  different  from  that  made  in  the  following  survey  by 
the  writer.  In  the  former  case,  a  little  more  attention  is  paid  to 
personal  habits  of  the  occupants,  and  to  the  furnishings  of  the  rooms; 
in  the  latter  case,  as  one  can  see,  the  emphasis  is  more  emphatically 
upon  the  condition  of  the  houses  themselves.  Both  sorts  of  em- 
phasis are  necessary. 


—     6  — 


Chapter  II 

The  Situation  in  1917 

In  the  spring  of  1917  another  investigation  of  housing  conditions 
was  made  by  the  writer  in  the  same  section  of  the  Borough  that  was 
covered  by  the  earher  inquiry  already  referred  to;  viz,  the  region 
bounded  by  Nassau  St.  on  the  south,  Witherspoon  St.  on  the  east, 
John  St.  on  the  west,  and  the  Borough  limits  on  the  north.  This 
section  is  lived  in  by  the  greater  part  of  the  unskilled  laboring 
population  of  the  town,  and  though  easy  of  access,  is  almost  un- 
known to  the  casual  visitor  in  Princeton.  No  street  runs  from  this 
section  to  the  west  end  of  town  where  the  best  residences  of  Prince- 
ton are  located.  West  of  John  St.  high  fences  and  hedges  form 
effective  barriers  between  the  two  sections.  One  must  approach  this 
area  from  Nassau  St.  on  the  south  or  from  the  east  by  means  of 
Wiggins  or  Spring  St.  Attention  is  called  to  the  isolation  of  this 
section  as  possibly  having  something  to  do  with  the  fact  that  it  has 
been  so  long  neglected  from  the  point  of  view  of  housing  and  sanita- 
tion. It  also  accounts  for  the  surprise  to  Princetonians  and  others 
when  the  fact  that  Princeton  has  a  housing  problem  is  mentioned. 

The  section  has  the  general  appearance  of  shabbiness.  The 
houses  are  with  few  exceptions  old  and  run  down.  The  streets  are 
in  bad  repair,  and  some  are  without  sidewalks.  Ashes,  rubbish,  and 
sometimes  garbage  are  scattered  over  the  lots.  "Clean-up  Week" 
makes  some  impression  on  the  side  of  betterment;  but  the  defects 
of  the  region  are  too  great  and  fundamental  to  be  removed  by 
spasmodic  and  temporary  civic  effort.  What  some  of  these  defects 
are  will  be  suggested  in  what  is  to  follow.  The  first  need  is  for 
responsible  people  in  the  community  to  face  the  facts.  Only  so  can 
they  be  seriously  and  constructively  dealt  with. 

Characteristics  of"  Dwellings  and  Evidence  as  to  Congestion 

The  investigation  under  discussion  covered  153  dwellings.'  An 
apartment  that  occupied  part  of  a  single  house  is  classified  as  a 
dwelling.  There  are  somewhat  more  than  300  separate  dwelling 
houses  in  this  section  of  Princeton;  so,  the  present  inquiry  includes 
slightly  less  than  half  the  total  number  of  dwellings  in  the  district. 
Of  the  152  dwellings  surveyed  the  houses  are  with  two  exceptions 
of  wooden  structure,  and  are  for  the  most  part  two  stories  in  height. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  classify  all  of  them  according  to  definite 
housing  types,  as  many  of  them  on  account  of  remodelling  and  make- 
shifts  defy  precise  classification.     The   following  is  suggestive: 

^Two  dwellings  were  out  side  the  general  district,  viz.  S3  Ewing,  and  38  Hum- 
bert Sts. 


7  — 


TABLE  I 

CHARACTERIZATION    OF    DWELLINGS    INVESTIGATED,    WITH 

NUMBER   OF   FAMILY   OR   NON-FAMILY   GROUPS 

ACCOMMODATED 


Number  and  Kinds  of  Dwelling 


No.  of  Family  or 

Non-Family 

Groups 

Accommodated 


10     Apartments 

65  Single  Houses  (entire  house  occupied  by  family) 

19     Double  Houses  (38  Dwellings) 

8     Tenements  (24  Dwellings) 

12     Row  Houses 

4     Cabins  or  Shanties 

Total 


10 
65 
38 
24 
12 
4 


152 


By  'apartment'  is  meant  a  part  of  a  single  house,  as  rooms  up- 
stairs or  down,  accommodating  a  family  group.  The  word  'tenement' 
covers  double  apartment  houses  of  this  type,  as  well  as  houses  that 
have  been  remodelled  or  built  on  to  for  the  accommodation  of  three 
or  more  families.  Some  question  might  be  raised  as  to  the  classifica- 
tion of  these  double  apartment  houses  as  tenements,  as  the  two  fam- 
ilies on  each  side  had  usually  separate  entrances;  but  the  frequent 
use  of  toilets  in  common,  the  inadequacies  of  partitions,  and  the 
general  lack  of  privacy  for  families  would  seem  to  justify  the  use  of 
the  word  tenement  to  describe  these  places.  Indeed,  they  give  rise 
to  some  of  the  worse  features  of  tenement  life  that  have  been  for- 
bidden in  some  of  our  large  cities.  In  four  instances,  at  least,  the 
requirements  of  precision  and  of  connotation  demand  the  terms 
'cabin'  or  'shanty'  as  the  only  ones  applicable  to  these  human  abodes. 

In  12  instances  the  tenants  of  these  dwellings  were  individuals 
who  occupied  them  either  with  or  without  additional  lodgers.  In 
the  remaining  cases  the  occupants  were  family  groups  with  or  with- 
out additional  lodgers. 

A  total  number  of  724  persons  occupied  the  houses.  Of  these 
12  were  individual  tenants,  628  were  living  as  members  of  families, 
and  84  were  lodgers. 


8  — 


TABLE  II 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  FAMILIES  BY  RACE,  NUMBER  OF  LODGERS 
AND  AVERAGE   NUMBER   OF   LODGERS   PER   FAMILY 


Race 

No. 
families 

Indiv.  occupants  or 
family  members 

Av'g  per 
family 

Lodgers 

Avg.  No.  Lodgers 
per  family 

Italian 
Colored 
Other  White 

28 
85 
26 

164  (inc.  1  indiv. 
occupant) .... 
352  (inc.  11  indiv. 
occupants). . . 
124   

5.82 

4.01 
4.76 

29 

52 
3 

1.035 

.611 
.115 

That  the  average  Italian  family  took  in  more  lodgers  than  the 
white  or  colored  families  was,  perhaps,  to  be  expected.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  the  number  of  lodgers  was  even  larger  among  the 
Italians  than  is  indicated,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  conversing  with 
Italian  housewives  who  talk  but  little  English,  and  to  the  further 
difficulty  that  sometimes  the  Italians  conceal  the  real  situation  as 
to  lodgers.  The  average  number  of  lodgers  for  each  household  that 
kept  lodgers  for  the  different  groups  is  seen  from  the  following 
table: 


TABLE  III 

NUMBER   OF   HOUSEHOLDS   KEEPING   LODGERS,   NUMBER  OF 

LODGERS,  AND  AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  LODGERS  FOR  EACH 

HOUSEHOLD  BY  RACIAL  GROUPS 


Race 

No.  households 
keeping  lodgers 

Number  of 
lodgers 

Average  per 
household 

Italian 

Colored 

Other  White 

12 

30 

3 

29 

52 

3 

2.416 
1.733 
1. 

In  the  above  table  the  word  "household"  instead  of  family  is 
used,  as  in  five  instances,  one  Italian  and  four  colored  persons,  the 
responsible  tenant  or  owner  was  a  single  individual  who  took  in 
lodgers.  It  will  be  seen  from  Tables  II  and  III  that  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  Italian  households  or  families  keep  lodgers  than  is  the 
case  for  the  negroes  or  other  white  groups;  and  that  the  average 
number  of  lodgers  per  household  is  considerably  larger  for  the 
Italians. 

One  Italian  family  of  7  persons  had  4  lodgers;  another  of  5  had 
3;  one  of  9  had  4;  and  one  of  5  had  5  lodgers.  Considering  that  the 
houses  and  rooms  are  small  this  means  congestion.  This  congestion 
is  further  seen  by  the  tables  showing  the  number  of  persons  per 
house,  per  room  and  per  sleeping  room. 


TABLE  IV 
NUMBER  OF  DWELLINGS,  OCCUPANTS  AND  AVERAGE  NUMBER 
OF  OCCUPANTS  PER  DWELLING  BY  RACIAL  GROUPS 


Race 

No.  of  dwellings 
occupied 

No.  Occupants 

Avg.  No.  occu- 
pants per 
dwelling 

Italian          

29 
96 
27 

193 
404 
127 

6.65 

Colored           

4.20 

OtherWhite       

4.70 

6.65  persons  were  the  average  for  the  Italian  dwellings,  which  was 
nearly  two  more  than  prevailed  among  whites,  other  than  Italian, 
and  more  than  two  more  than  prevailed  among  the  negroes.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  number  per  dwelling  was  slightly  greater 
among  the  whites  than  among  the  colored  people,  being  4.7  persons 
in  the  one  case  and  4.2  in  the  other.  Table  II,  page  9,  which  shows 
the  average  size  of  families,  reveals  the  fact  that  the  colored  families 
in  the  group  studied  were  somewhat  smaller  than  the  white  families, 
being  4.01  in  the  one  case  and  4.76  in  the  other.  Italian  families  were, 
on  the  average,  the  largest,  consisting  of  5.82  persons.  The  largest 
single  family,  however,  was  that  of  a  colored  household  which  con- 
tained 12  persons  in  5  rooms  with  2  sleeping  rooms.  The  next  to 
the  largest  was  an  Italian  family  of  11  persons,  living  in  6  rooms 
with  2  sleeping  rooms.  The  situation  generally  concerning  room  or 
sleeping  congestion  is  seen  in  the  following  table: 


TABLE  V 

NUMBER  OF  ROOMS,  AVERAGE  NUMBER  PERSONS  PER  ROOM, 

NUMBER  OF  SLEEPING  ROOMS,  AVERAGE  NUMBER  PERSONS 

PER  SLEEPING  ROOM  BY  RACIAL  GROUPSJ 


Race 

No.  rooms 
occupied 

Avg.  No. 
persons 
per  room 

No.  sleeping 

rooms 

occupied 

Avg.  No. 

persons  per 

sleeping  room 

Italian      

138 
467 
133 

1.39 
.86 
.95 

70 

237 

71 

2.75  1 

Colored    

1.70 

Other  White 

1.78 

'The  Italian  sleeping  room  congestion  is  greater  than  that  found  among  the  im- 
migrants of  our  large  cities  by  the  Immigration  Commission.  It  found  the  average 
sleeijing  room  congestion  among  immigrants  of  7  large  cities  to  be  2.,'>'2  persons 
per  sleepang  room.     (See  Jenks  and  Lauck,  The  Immigration  Problem  p.  461.) 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  table  that,  as  in  case  of  the  aver- 
ages for  dwellings,  the  average  for  rooms  and  for  sleeping  rooms 
was  highest  among  the  Italians,  being  for  this  group  1.39  and  2.75  re- 
spectively; and  that  the  average  for  the  whites  exceeds  those  for  the 
negroes.     The  whites  had  .95  persons  per  room  as  compared  with  .86 


—  10  — 


persons  for  the  negroes;  and  for  sleeping  rooms  the  whites  had  an 
average  of  1.78  persons,  while  the  average  for  the  negroes  was  1.70. 

Among  all  groups  the  total  average  of  persons  per  dwelling  was 
4.75;  per  room,  .90;  and  per  sleeping  room,  1.91. 

The  concept  of  congestion  is  a  variable  one,  depending  upon  the 
size  of  the  houses  and  of  the  rooms,  upon  the  physical  and  sanitary 
condition  of  the  premises,  and  upon  the  standards  of  living  of  the 
groups  involved.  Considering  these  factors  with  reference  to  the 
groups  of  people  and  houses  under  consideration,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that,  generally  speaking,  undesirable  congestion  prevails  among 
them.  The  averages  of  persons  of  each  group  per  room  and  per 
sleeping  room  as  given  in  Table  V  gain  in  significance  if  we  regard 
41  cases  where  congestion  was  found  to  exist  most  severely.  These 
instances  are  tabulated  as  follows: 


TABLE  VI 

41     INSTANCES     OF     CONGESTION,     SHOWING     NUMBERS     IN 

FAMILIES,  LODGERS,  ROOMS,  AND  SLEEPING  ROOMS,  BY 

RACIAL  GROUPS 

ITALIANS 


Instances 

No.  in 

No.  sleeping 

family 

Lodgers 

No.  rooms 

rooms 

1 

11 

0 

6 

2 

2 

5 

3 

4 

3 

3 

7 

0 

2 

1 

4 

5 

5 

6 

3 

5 

7 

1 

4 

2 

6 

5 

1 

4 

2 

7 

6 

0 

4 

2 

8 

6 

0 

3 

1 

9 

4 

0 

3 

1 

10 

7 

1 

7 

3 

11 

5 

1 

3 

2 

12 

4 

1 

3 

2 

13 

9 

0 

6 

3 

14 

7 

4 

7 

4 

15 

5 

3 

3 

2 

16 

8 

0 

5 

3 

17 

9 

4 

6 

3 

18 

9 

0 

4 

4 

19 

7 

0 

6 

3 

20 

7 

2 

4 

3 

Total 

133 

26 

90 

49 

—  11  — 


COLORED 


Instances 

No.  in 

No.  sleeping 

Family 

Lodgers 

No.  rooms 

rooms 

21 

5 

2 

6 

3 

22 

5 

0 

4 

2 

23 

7 

0 

4 

2 

24 

7 

0 

6 

3 

25 

5 

0 

5 

2 

26 

3 

5 

6 

3 

27 

6 

1 

4 

2 

28 

7 

1 

3 

2 

29 

9 

2 

6 

4 

30 

7 

0 

5 

2 

31 

5 

0 

4 

2 

32 

4 

0 

2 

1 

33 

12 

0 

5 

2 

34 

9 

0 

6 

3 

35 

9 

0 

6 

3 

36 

7 

1 

4 

3 

37 

7 

1 

6 

3 

38 

6 

3 

6 

2 

Total 

120 

16 

88 

44 

OTHER  WHITE 


39 

8 

0 

3 

2 

40 

10 

0 

6 

3 

41 

8 

0 

6 

3 

Total 

26 

0 

15 

8 

These  41   cases  of  greatest   congestion  may  be  summarized   ac- 
cording to  the  three  groups  as  follows: 

TABLE  VII 

SUMMARY  OF  41  CASES  OF  GREATEST  CONGESTION,  SHOWING 

NUMBER  IN  FAMILIES,  NUMBER  LODGERS,  NUMBER  OF  ROOMS, 

AVERAGE  NUMBER  OCCUPANTS  PER  ROOM,   NUMBER  OF 

SLEEPING  ROOMS,  AND  AVERAGE  NUMBER  OCCUPANTS 

PER  SLEEPING  ROOMS,  BY  RACIAL  GROUPS 


Race 

No.  in 
families 

No. 
lodgers 

No.  of 
rooms 

Avg.  No. 
per  room 

No.  sleeping 
rooms 

Avg.  No. 

per  sleeping 

room 

Italian 

Colored 

Other  White. 

133 

120 
26 

26 

16 

0 

90 
88 
15 

1.76 
1.54 
1.73 

49 

44 

8 

3.35 
3.09 
3.33 

Total. .  . . 

279 

42 

193 

1.66 

101 

3.17 

—  12  — 


In  these  cases  that  represent  greatest  congestion  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  averages  per  room  and  per  sleeping  room  are  more  nearly 
equal  for  the  three  groups  than  was  found  to  be  the  case  where  all 
families  of  all  groups  were  included  (Table  V).  The  order  for  the 
three  groups,  however,  is  the  same  in  the  two  tables,  Italians  show- 
ing the  greatest  amount  of  congestion,  whites,  other  than  Italians, 
the  next  greatest,  and  colored  families  the  least.  It  might  be  ob- 
jected, however,  that  the  number  of  white  families  selected  for  com- 
parison with  others  in  Table  VII  was  too  small  to  be  of  value.  It 
simply  means  that  a  smaller  percent  of  white  families  showed  ex- 
treme congestion  than  of  Italian  or  colored  families.  20  out  of  28 
Italian  families  showed  great  congestion;  18  out  of  85  colored  fami- 
lies; and  3  out  of  2G  white  families. 

The  figure  1.66  as  the  average  per  room  for  all  these  41  families 
is  to  be  compared  with  the  results  of  the  survey  made  a  few  years 
ago  by  the  University  authorities  of  the  houses  of  the  University 
employees.  In  that  survey  it  was  found  that  145  persons  were  lodged 
in  85  rooms,  or  an  average  of  1.68  per  room.  This  average  was  de- 
clared by  that  survey  to  constitute  bad  overcrowding.  If  it  was  so 
then,  it  is  so  now,  for  it  is  a  situation  which,  if  let  alone,  does  not 
improve  by  age. 

Bath  Rooms — Water  Supply 

Before  passing  to  a  detailed  discussion  of  some  of  these  premises 
a  few  general  facts  are  submitted.  25  of  the  152  dwellings  had  bath- 
rooms and  24  had  bathtubs.  Of  the  houses  that  had  bath  rooms  6 
were  occupied  by  Italians,  14  by  colored  people  and  5  by  whites, 
other  than  Italians.  It  is  significant  that  in  16  of  the  25  cases  where 
bath  rooms  existed,  the  families  owned  their  own  homes.  These 
homes  owned  by  the  occupants  were  among  the  better  ones  of  the 
district,  and  further  mention  will  be  made  of  them.  Where  there  were 
no  bath  rooms  toilet  facilities  were  usually  outside  the  houses;  but, 
as  the  condition  of  these  toilets  constitute  one  of  the  most  serious 
aspects  of  the  housing  problem  in  Princeton,  they  will  be  discussed 
apart  from  these  general  remarks. 

The  water  supply  of  the  152  dwellings  was  furnished  as  follows: 

Spigot  in  kitchen  with  sink 126  cases 

Spigot   in   kitchen   without   sink 8  " 

Cellar,    no     sink 2  " 

Pump    in    Yard 2 

Well     4  " 

"Downstairs"    1  " 

(In  lower  apartment) 

"Elsewhere"     9       " 

(From  neighbors  or  spigot  outside  the  house) 

In  few  instances  were  there  any  provisions  for  heating  water  ex- 
cept on  the  stove.  In  many  cases  the  sinks  were  very  small  and  in- 
adequate. In  cases  where  sinks  did  not  exist  with  the  inside  spigots 
the  water  frequently  dripped,  keeping  the  floors  constantly  wet. 
Pumps  or  wells  in  the  yards  cannot  with  precision  be  called  "con- 
veniences," and  the  Princeton  typhoid  fever  rates,  as  the  section  on 
Health  of  this  study  will  show,  cannot  bear  with  safety  needless  ag- 

—  13  — 


gravation.  The  term  "elsewhere"  means  that  these  families  get  their 
water  from  the  neighbors  or  from  spigots  outside  the  houses.  In 
one  case  a  family's  well  went  dry  in  May,  and  thereafter  they  lived  on 
what  they  could  get  from  their  neighl)ors'  metered  water  services. 
In  another  case  a  man  walked  200  yards  to  a  well  behind  a  neighbor's 
house  for  the  water  supply  for  his  family.  In  this  case  the  plumbing 
of  his  house  had  been  out  of  order  ever  since  he  moved  into  it.  In 
another  case  a  spigot  sticking  up  out  of  the  ground  outside  was  the 
only  supply  for  4  dwellings.  The  importance  to  a  laboring  population 
especially  of  a  cheap,  plentiful  and  convenient  water  supply  cannot  be 
overestimated.  Hut  in  Princeton,  as  we  have  seen,  in  many  cases  this 
supply  is  not  convenient;  and  it  is  neither  cheap  nor  plentiful,  for  ac- 
cording to  the  New  Jersey  Public  Service  Commission  Reports 
Princeton  has  one  of  the  highest  water  rates  in  the  state  of  New 
Jersey.  This  is  especially  a  burden  Upon  the  colored  families  where 
the  women  take  in  washing  to  aid  the  family  income.  Complaints 
that  the  water  rates  added  materially  to  the  cost  of  living  were  fre- 
quently made  by  the  housewives. 

Dampness  and  Its  Relation  to  Health 

In  45  instances  the  roofs  leaked;  in  many  cases  badly.  In  31 
cases  there  was  water  in  the  cellars.  29  houses  had  no  cellars.  Ce- 
ment cellars  were  found  in  21  cases;  elsewhere  cellars  had  dirt  floors. 
Cold,  damp,  poorly  protected  houses  are  all  too  frequent  in  this  sec- 
tion of  Princeton,  and  they  undoubtedly  have  something  to  do  with 
the  fact  that  Princeton  has  had  one  of  the  highest  death  rates  from 
tuberculosis  of  any  city  over  5000  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  The 
situation  as  to  tuberculosis  in  Princeton  will  be  extensively  commented 
upon  in  the  section  of  this  study  upon  Health;  but  it  may  here  be 
stated  with  efTect  that  in  the  report  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Board 
of  Health  for  1911,  giving  deaths  for  1910  from  tuberculosis  per  10,000 
of  population  in  47  cities  of  over  5000  inhabitants,  Princeton,  one  of 
the  smallest  of  these  cities,  has  by  far  the  highest  tuberculosis  death 
rate  of  them  all  with  .31.15  per  10,000  of  population.  The  next  lower 
rate  than  Princeton  for  1910  was  that  of  West  Orange  with  22.61  per 
10,000.  Jersey  City  had  a  rate  of  16.54;  Trenton  19.32;  New  Bruns- 
wick 17.10;  Camden  11.95. 

There  is  evidence  for  believing  that  the  situation  with  regard  to 
tuberculosis  in  Princeton  has  not  materially  improved  since  1910. 
Of  course,  there  are  other  factors  leading  to  tuberculosis  besides 
bad  housing;  but  it  would  be  folly  to  deny  that  this  is  one  of  the 
factors,  and  Anti-Tuberculosis  League  of  the  Borough  would  do  well 
to  concentrate  for  a  period  of  years  upon  the  housing  problem.  From 
1912  to  April  1917  there  reported  to  the  Borough  Board  of  Health 
18  cases  of  Tuberculosis  just  from  these  152  dwellings  under  discus- 
sion. Three  of  these  18  cases  were  reported  from  one  house,  315^2 
Lytle  St. 

Again,  in  the  year  1916,  32  of  the  78  deaths  recorded  on  the  rec- 
ords of  the  Borough  Board  of  Health  were  of  children  under  5  years 
of  age.  20  of  them  were  of  infants  under  one  year.  Of  these  32 
child  and  infant  deaths  8  were  from  Pneumonia  or  Broncho-Pneu- 
monia, 3  from  Bronchitis,  1  was  from  Tuberculosis,  and  1  was  from 
Inflammatory  Rheumatism.  5  of  these  deaths  from  the  foregoing 
diseases  were  of  Italian  children,  4  of  white,  and  4  of  negro  children. 
Unquestionably,  the  housing  conditions  have  something,  at  least,  to 
do  with  this  situation. 

—  14  — 


Toilet  Facilities 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  condition  of  the  toilets  in  the  district 
constitutes  a  menace  to  good  housing  and  sanitation.  This  statement 
may  now  be  explained.  Following  the  investigation  by  the  Univer- 
sity authorities,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  a  large  number  of 
privy  vaults  were  done  away  with,  and  toilets  were  installed  con- 
nected with  the  sewers.  The  Revised  Sanitary  Code  for  1916  declares 
to  be  a  nuisance  "any  privy  on  any  property  which  is  adjacent  to  the 
public  sewer  or  the  streets  or  alleys  for  which  public  sewers  have 
been  constructed — ."  (Section  61  c).  There  was  but  one  privy  vaulV 
found  in  the  present  inquiry  within  the  Borough  limits,  and  this  was 
in  connection  with  a  house  that  is  outside  of  the  particular  district 
under  discussion.  (83  Ewing  St.)  In  this  district,  then,  privy  vaults 
have  been  done  away  with.  The  toilets  in  this  section  were  found 
to  be  located  as  follows: 

36  were  in  the  yards  back  of  the  houses. 

53  were  on  back  porches. 

15  were  adjacent  to  kitchens. 

8  dwellings  had  none,  the  families  of  these  using  toilets  in  the 
neighboring  yards  or  houses. 

2   families    living   in   upstairs   apartments,    used    the    toilets   of 
the  lower  apartments,  in  the  yard  or  on  the  porch. 

25  toilets  were  in  bath  rooms. 

12  toilets  were  elsewhere,  either  adjacent  to  halls,  or  in  sheds 
at  the  rear  of  the  houses. 

The  maintenance  of  8  dwellings  with  no  toilets  is  in  direct  vio- 
lation of  Section  90  of  the  Revised  Sanitary  Code  which  reads, 

"Any  person  or  persons  renting,  leasing,  or  causing  to  be  rented 
or  leased,  a  plot  or  plots  of  ground,  for  any  purpose  or  purposes, 
which  from  the  nature  of  the  occupancy  would  make  desirable  the 
necessary  use  of  toilet  facilities,  shall  provide  adequate  toilet  facili- 
ties for  the  use  of  the  person  so  occupying,  and  shall  maintain  such 
toilets  in  a  manner  approved  by  the  Board  of  Health." 

Frequently  there  was  not  a  separate  toilet  for  each  family.  12 
toilets  were  used  by  2  families  each;  1  by  three  families,  including  9 
persons;  4  were  used  by  4  families  each,  including  43  persons;  one 
was  used  by  5  families,  in  three  of  which  only  there  were  19  persons. 
Even  where  there  was  ?>■  toilet  for  each  family  often  the  large  size  of 
the  family  and  numerous  lodgers  gave  rise  to  inadequate  toilet  fa- 
cilities. 

The  menace  of  this  situation  will  be  more  fully  realized  by  a 
consideration  of  the  conditions  of  some  of  these  toilets.  The  writer 
was  informed  that  when  they  were  installed  the  specifications  re- 
garding materials  and  workmanship  were  not  met  with.  However 
that  may  be,  at  present  the  flow  of  water  through  many  of  them  is 
exceedingly  weak,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  flush  them  properly.  In 
addition  to  this,  where  the  toilets  are  on  the  back  porches  or  in  the 
yards,  the  pipes  and  boxes  are  exposed  to  cold  weather  and  are,  as 
a  result,  constantly  freezing.  In  57  of  the  152  dwellings  investigated 
the  toilets  had  been  frozen  at  some  time  during  the  previous  winter, 
and  as  a  consequence  had  been  out  of  order,  in  some  cases  for  a  few 

—  15  — 


days  or  weeks;  and  in  two  instances,  at  least,  for  several  months; 
and  in  one  case  tlie  housewife  stated  that  the  toilet  had  not  been  in 
order  for  a  year.  Meanwhile,  these  defective  toilets  are  used  and 
unspeakable  filth  accumulates.  In  the  case  of  one  house,  owned  by 
the  Chief  of  Police  of  the  Roroup;h,  excrement  and  rubbish  had  ac- 
cumulated in  the  toilet  to  the  height  of  a  half-foot  above  the  seat. 
In  this  house  lived  a  colored  woman  with  fi  children  and  a  lodger. 
Two  oT  her  daughters  have  recently  given  birth  to  illegitimate  chil- 
dren, and  the  children  have  been  reported  to  the  County  Court  in 
Trenton  for  truancy  and  to  the  Borough  Board  of  Health  for  infecting 
other  children  of  the  neighborhood  with  impetigo. 

This  instance  suggests  that  the  chief  factor  in  the  problern  is 
the  low  standards  of  the  individual  occupants.  In  some  cases,  this  is 
undoubtedly  true;  complaint  was  made  to  the  writer  by  one  real 
estate  agent  that  tenants  throw  all  sorts  of  things  improperly  into 
the  toilets,  and  that  his  company  now  obliges  tenants  to  pay  for 
repairs  due  to  freezing  or  stoppage,  or  else  to  move  out.  But  for 
every  family  where  low  sanitary  standards  were  apparent  one  could 
find  many  others  in  the  district  where  aginst  great  odds  every  effort 
was  being  made  to  be  decent.  To  repair  the  toilets  after  the  pipes 
or  tanks  had  frozen  involves  an  expense  which  is  burdensome.  In 
some  cases  the  landlords  would  pay  for  repairs;  often  tenants  would 
do  so  themselves;  but  far  too  frequently  both  tenants  and  landlords 
let  matters  go. 

From  any  large  point  of  view  it  is  of  secondary  importance 
whether  tenants  or  landlords  are  more  to  blame  for  the  state  of 
affairs,  for  the  consequences  are  grave  for  the  whole  community. 
Some  might  be  inclined  to  find  the  Board  of  Health  lax  in  the  matter 
for  Section  121  of  the  Sanitary  Code  reads  in  part, 

" water  closets  in  which  the  walls  are  not  thoroughly 

flushed  at  each  discharge  are  prohibited,"  and,  "All  water  supply 
pipes  and  traps  must  be  profected  from  freezing." 

In  the  judgment  of  the  writer  an  expert  plumber  could  go 
through  the  district  on  a  tour  of  inspection  and  make  the  Sanitary 
Code  appear  ridiculous,  especially  the  Sections  97  ff.  which  deal  with 
Plumbing   and    Draining    requirements. 

Besides  the  cases  where  trouble  arose  through  the  freezing  or 
stoppage  of  the  pipes,  numerous  cases  are  recorded  where  the  water 
closets  leaked  onto  the  floors;  where  too  many  houses  drained  into 
one  pipe  leading  to  the  sewer,  causing  sewage  to  back  up  and  foul 
odors;  and  where  neighborhoods  would  be  made  ff)ul-smelling  by 
persons  who,  having  no  adequate  toilet  facilities,  threw  the  contents 
of  slop  buckets  on  to  the  lots  or  even  into  the  streets, — all  these  in- 
cidents being  in  direct  violation  of  some  provision  of  the  Sanitary 
Code.  Instances  were  also  noted  where  the  toilet  rooms  had  no 
windows,  or  where  the  windows  were  so  nailed  up  that  they  could 
not  be  opened.  In  at  least  one  of  these  instances  the  toilet  room 
was  off  the  kitchen.     Yet  section   120    of  the    Sanitary    Code    reads, 

" water   closets    must   never  be   placed   in   a   room   or  apartment 

unventilated  by  a  window  to  the  outside." 

As  a  further  indication  that  sufficient  law  exists  for  the  remedy- 
ing, or,  at  leastj  for  lessening  of  some  of  the  evils  enumerated,  we 
may  close  this  section  with  further  quotations  from  the  Sanitary 
Code.     Among  the   nuisances   enumerated   in   the   Code  are   the   fol- 

—  16  — 


lowing: 

"The  keeping  of  any  dwelling  house  or  other  house  or  building, 
or  any  part  thereof,  in  such  a  state  of  uncleanliness  or  unhealthful- 
ness  or  the  crowding  of  persons  in  any  dwelling  house  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  endanger  the  health  of  the  persons  dwelling  therein." 
(Section  61.  Para,  f.) 

And  again, 

"Any  imperfect  trap,  sink  or  water  closet  within  any  house,  out- 
house, lot,  alley  or  street,  or  any  other  drainage  appliance  or  fixture 
within  any  house,  outhouse,  lot,  alley  or  street  or  highway,  from  which 
there  shall  escape  any  foul  or  noxious  liquid,  gas  or  odor."  (Sec. 
61,  Par.  m.) 

For  the  enforcement  of  these  provisions  there  is  the  following: 

"That  whenever  a  nuisance  shall  be  found  to  exist  on  private 
property,  the  Health  Officer  of  this  Board  shall  notify  the  owner 
or  owners  of  the  property,  whereon  the  said  nuisance  shall  or  may 
exist,  in  writing,  to  abate  or  remove  the  nuisance  within  three  days 
from  the  date  thereof,  unless  in  the  judgment  of  this  Board  more 
speedy  action  be  deemed  necessary  or  more  time  be  allowd.  Such 
notice  shall  be  served  by  personal  service  on  the  owner  and  by  leav- 
ing a  duplicate  notice  with  the  tenants  or  occupants  of  the  said 
property,  and  in  the  event  of  the  property  being  unoccupied,  or  if 
the  owner  or  owners  reside  in  another  State  or  cannot  be  reached 
with  notice  speedily  by  posting  the  notices  on  the  premises,  to  re- 
move or  abate  the  nuisance." 

For  the  violation  of  the  above  provisions  concerning  nuisances 
there  is  a  fine  of  from  $2.  to  $100.  for  each  ofifense.  It  would  seem 
then  that  among  some  of  the  measures  required  by  the  present  situa- 
tion is  a  more  rigorous  and  fearless  enforcement  of  the  law. 

Facts  Regarding  Particular  Premises 

We  may  now  present  in  detail  facts  concerning  particular  prem- 
ises for  the  purpose  of  giving  further  emphasis  to  some  of  the  general 
considerations  thus  far  presented,  and  of  presenting  certain  social 
facts  that  are  correlative  with  housing  conditions.  This  data  includes 
the  number  of  the  house  and  street  on  which  it  is  located;  race  of 
occupant;  number  in  family;  number  of  lodgers;  assessed  value  of 
house  and  lot;  amount  of  taxes  and  rents;  also  remarks.  Unless 
stated  to  the  contrary  none  of  the  following  dwellings  have  bath 
rooms  or  tubs,  and  water  supply  as  from  spigot  in  the  kitchen.  In- 
formation concerning  these  premises  came  from  occupants,  landlords, 
social  workers,  school  people,  real  estate  agents,  and  other  responsi- 
ble people  in  the  community. 


—  17  — 


No. 
Case 


1 


No. 
House 


Street 


04  Witherspoon 


Race  of 
Occupant 


Other  White 


No. 

in 

Fam. 


No. 
Lod- 
gers 


0 


Valuation 


Hse.       Land 


Taxes 
f 


Rent 


House  fairly  neat  and  clean.  Woman  complains  of  colored  Restaurant  next 
door,  where  garbage  in  back  makes  bad  stench.  Reported  to  Board  of  Health 
without  relief.  Drain  pipes  with  No.  04  are  same  as  that  for  Restaurant  lead- 
ing out  to  sewer.  Things  thrown  into  toilet  and  sink  drain  from  Restaurant 
causes  stoppage  in  No.  04,  and  yard  and  drain  has  to  be  dug  up  every  summer 
for  repairs. 


2  1110  Witherspoon   I  Colored 


6    I    0    I  1400  I  1200  I  43.68  I    10.00 


Upstairs  apartment.  Toilet  leaks  on  to  the  floor.  Floors  of  apartment  weak. 
Colored  woman  reported  sick  with  tuberculosis,  March  1,  1917,  at  this  house. 
Woman  later  died. 


3  I  136  Witherspoon  I  Colored 


112      1200       500  I  30.24      13.50 


One-half  of  double  house.  Single  colored  woman  with  two  men  lodgers 
lives  here.  Immoral  relationships  alleged  by  some  of  neighbors.  Cellar  foul 
smelling  from  chickens  that  are  kept  there  against  stipulations  of  sanitary 
code.  Woman  in  other  half  of  house  cannot  use  cellar  on  account  of  odor 
from  chickens. 


4  1  142  Witherspoon  |  Colored 


0        900  I  600      25.20       11.00 


Respectable  hard  working  colored  family  live  here.  Have  lived  in  Prince- 
ton 15  years.  Window  in  toilet  does  not  open.  Trap  door  from  kitchen  into 
cellar  endangers  safety  of  children  when  open.  5  people  in  four  small  rooms 
with  two  sleeping  rooms.     One  half  of  double  house. 

5  I  145  Witherspoon  I  Colored        I    1    I    1    I    500  I  1300  |  30.24  |  12.00 

House  neat.  Respectable  colored  woman  living  here.  Says  Board  of 
Health  should  be  more  active  in  making  conditions  better,  abating  nuisances, 
etc.  Says  that  very  few  of  the  houses  are  protected  from  the  flies  in  summer. 
This  woman  paid  herself  for  kitchen  to  be  built  on,  and  always  has  to  pay  when 
toilet  pipes  and  tank  freeze.    Tb.  reported  here  December  5,  1913. 


6  I  150  W'itherspoon  |  Colored 


0      1200       570     29.74      14.00 


This  is  one-half  of  double  house.  Case  of  Tb.  had  been  kept  in  this  house 
for  a  year.  The  house  was  not  fumigated,  nor  the  room  repapered  or  reno- 
vated. Rain  beats  into  house  through  the  door.  The  toilet  doesn't  flush  and 
tenant  must  pay  to  have  it  fixed.  Another  family  of  two  people  to  move  into 
the  apartment  upstairs.  No  record  on  Board  of  Health  books  as  to  this  house 
having  lodged  a  case  of  tuberculosis. 


7  I  146  Witherspoon  I  Colored 


1000  I     1200  136.96  I  11.25 


This  family  in  Princeton  for  27  years.  The  house  is  one-half  of  a  double 
house.  One  toilet  for  two  families.  No  seat  to  toilet  which  leaks  badly  onto 
the  floor.  Huge  hole  in  the  wall  on  the  second  floor  which  is  an  uncovered 
stove  vent.  The  house  has  no  cellar.  The  roof  leaks  into  the  bed  room. 
Fences  in  front  of  house  are  falling  down.  Woman  says  that  landlord  won't 
do  anything  but  collect  the  rent. 


—  18 


8  I  153  Witherspoon  |  Colored 


800      700      25.20 


One-half  of  double  house.  This  house  has  no  cellar  and  woman  says  children 
are  always  getting  colds  from  dampness.  Next  door  at  155  the  toilet  has 
been  out  of  order  for  year,  so  that  family  use  toilet  at  153,  the  floor  of  which 
was  wet  and  filthy. 


9  I  154  Witherspoon  I  Colored 


0 


360       520      14.68   15.00 


Double  house  in  wretched  repair.  Wall  paper  falling  off;  plastering  coming 
down;  floors  weak  and  broken.  One  toilet  for  families  at  154  and  156.  The 
toilet  room  was  filled  up  with  dirty  pails  and  rubbish.  Window  did  not  open. 
Whole  place  ill-smelling  and  dirty. 


4 

0 

1700 
(inc. 
158- 
160- 
162) 

810 

42.17 

10      158  Witherspoon      Colored  4        0         1700       810     42.17    15.00 

(plus) 

2.00 

for 

stable 

Single  house.  Woman  says  that  her  husband  had  spent  time  and  money  on 
this  house  because  the  landlord  would  not  repair.  Toilet  frozen  twice  last 
winter.  The  roof  leaks  in  two  places,  and  there  is  standing  water  in  the 
cellar.     The  woman  has  2  babies. 


11  I  164  Witherspoon  |  Italian 


0 


500       455     16.051 


Single  house  owned  by  Italian  that  lives  here.  House  dirty  and  crowded, 
9  people  living  in  5  small  rooms  and  sleeping  in  four  beds.  No  cellar  to  house. 
Toilet  off  shed,  and  window  does  not  open. 


12  I  215  Witherspoon  |  Colored 


See  No.  223  1 12.00 


This  place  was  in  hopeless  disorder  and  filth.  Unemptied  slop  buckets 
standing  about.  Toilet  was  frozen  last  winter,  and  does  not  flush  now.  Place 
should  be  dealt  with  by  Board  of  Health  as  a  nuisance  under  Section  61  f.  of 
the  Sanitary  Code,  already  referred  to.  (See  p.  17).  Case  of  tuberculosis 
reported  from  this  house  March  17,  1916. 


13   I  216  Witherspoon   I   Italian 


420 


In  this  house  lived  8  Italians  in  4  rooms  using  3  sleeping  rooms.  In  one  of 
the  rooms  upstairs  was  one  double  bed  and  four  single  beds,  in  one  of  which 
was  a  man  sick  with  tuberculosis  the  case  being  reported  to  the  Board  of 
Health,  April  5,  1917.     Whole  house  dirty  and  yard  cluttered  with  rubbish. 


14 


223  Witherspoon 


Colored 


5 

1 

215-223 

215- 

Ho.  &  Land 

223 

4700 

78.96 

12.00 


An  unmarried  mother  living  at  this  house  recently  died.  It  is  alleged  that 
the  undertaker  in  the  case  attempted  to  do  away  with  the  child.  Young 
colored  man,  21  years  old,  recently  sent  to  hospital  from  this  house  with 
tuberculosis  House  was  not  fumigated.  Case  reported  to  Board  of  Health 
March  19,  1917.     House  in  poor  repair.     Paper  coming  olf  in  places. 


—  19  — 


15  I  222  Witherspoon  1  Colored        I    3    |    3    I I    IG.OO 

Well  constructed  house  of  brick  and  wood,  but  kitchen  sink  does  not  drain 
well,  and  toilet  leaks  on  to  floor.  Case  of  tuberculosis  colored  man,  50  years, 
reported  here  November  28,  1914. 


16 


12  Witherspoon 
Lane 


8 

0 

1000 

140 

17.47 

Other  White      8        0        1000       140     17.47    10.00 


One-half  of  a  double  house.  Roof  leaks  very  badly,  and  family  has  colds 
constantly.  Tenant  said  that  toilet  could  be  kept  from  freezing  with  great 
care  by  packing  the  pipes.  Floors  weak.  One  case  of  tuberculosis  reported 
from  this  house,  January  20,  1916,  young  woman,  age  23. 

17  I  221  W'itherspoon  I  Colored        |    7    I    0    I     See  !  223    I I   12.00 

One-half  of  double  house.  Toilet  room  dirty  and  ill-smelling,  and  packed 
with  clothes  and  rubbish.  One  room  very  dark  as  window  opens  onto  nar- 
row alley.  Cellar  stairs  weak  and  rotten.  Mother  of  tenant,  and  water  meter 
reader  both  have  fallen  on  these  stairs  and  been  hurt. 

18  I  28  With 'spn  Lane  |other  White!    3    13    1    3000  1240  I  54.4.31   10.50 

(22  to  30  Witherspoon  Lane.)  This  house  is  one  of  a  row  of  5,  owned  by 
Italian  who  lives  at  one  end  of  row.  Woman  here  states  that  the  Italian 
turned  the  water  off  in  the  row  for  a  period  of  three  months  during  the  winter. 

19  I  32  With'spn  Lane  lother  White  |    7    |    1    I    3000     |  240  154.43  1  8.00 

(Tenement  of  7  apartments,  32  Witherspoon  Lane.)  One  apartment  of  four 
rooms  at  rear  of  32  Witherspoon  Lane,  Here  lives  a  white  woman  with  six 
children  and  an  Italian  who  is  not  her  husband.  Woman  is  probably  feeble- 
minded. 

20  I  32  With'n  Lane     |  Italian  I    4    I    0    I | I  |     8.00 

Italian  family  of  4  persons  living  in  apartment  at  32  Witherspoon  Lane. 
4  rooms.  The  roof  leaks  and  the  water  comes  through  holes  into  the  cellar. 
This  household  looked  fairly  neat.  Mention  is  here  made  especially  of  it  as 
the  father  of  the  wife  in  this  home  deserted  his  wife  and  daughter  to  live  with 
his  young  niece,  by  whom  he  has  had  children.  An  attorney  in  the  Borough 
drew  up  a  contract  by  which  this  action  was  made  to  appear  legal  to  these 
people.  Social  workers  in  the  Borough  have  tried  repeatedly  to  get  this 
father  prosecuted,  but  the  Chief  of  Police  complained,  when  asked  to  serve  a 
warrant  for  this  man,  who  has  recently  been  living  a  little  outside  the  Borough, 
The  support  of  the  aged  mother  has  fallen  upon  the  married  daughters.  There 
is  a  well  in  the  yard  of  this  dwelling  but  the  family  do  not  use  the  water.  The 
rents  from  the  7  apartments  of  this  makeshift  tenement  at  32  Witherspoon 
Lane  amount  to  $56.00  per  month.  A  case  of  Tb.  was  reported  from  one  of 
these  apartments  on  March  11,  1912,  being  a  colored  man  of  33  years  of  age. 

21  I  36  With'n  Lane     |  White  14    10    I | I I    10.00 

This  family  gets  its  water  from  a  pump  in  the  yard  which  goes  dry  towards 
the  end  of  May  after  which  the  family  get  their  water  from  neighbors.  Wretched 
premises.  Alcoholism  and  poverty  apparent.  The  roof  leaks;  there  is  a 
privy  vault  in  the  yard,  and  one  room  without  window  in  the  house. 

—  20  — 


22 


30  Birch  Ave. 
1st  Floor 


Colored 


Outside  the  Bor. 


10.00 


This  family  occupies  the  first  floor  of  a  three  family  tenement.    The  prem- 
ises were  disorderly.    Man  sick  here  with  Tb.    There  is  water  in  the  cellar. 


23  I  33  Birch  Ave. 


Colored 


Outside  the  Bor. 


This  building  houses  4  families  over  a  slaughter  house  and  store  house  with 
no  exit  in  case  of  fire  but  the  two  narrow  staircases,  one  on  each  side.  It  is 
a  wooden  structure  and  the  fire  risk  for  these  families  is  very  great.  In  3  of 
these  families  are  5  persons. 


24  I  11  Lytle  St. 


Colored 


5     12.00 


The  first  floor  of  this  house  is  occupied  by  a  colored  family  of  three  and  the 
2nd  floor  has  been  sublet  to  another  colored  family  of  five  persons.  The 
house  has  6  rooms.  The  toilet  doesn't  flush.  Dirt  and  filth  abound.  The 
roof  leaks.  The  front  steps  are  broken  and  in  decay.  Case  of  Tb.  reported 
from  this  house  on  March  20,  1917. 


25      13  Lytle  St. 


7 

600 

300 

13.44 

18.00 


This  is  a  double  house  occupied  by  3  families.     No  cellar;  no  sinks.    Prop- 
erty in  bad  repair.    In  back  lives  lone  woman  in  shanty.    Only  1  toilet. 


26  I  15-17  Lytle 


Ital.  &  Col.     17 


2000       6001   43.68    26.00 


This  property  is  owned  by  an  Italian.  It  is  a  double  house,  accom- 
modating four  separate  groups.  On  one  side  lives  an  Italian  who  has  a  shoe 
shop  on  first  floor  and  rents  one  room  on  second  floor  to  colored  man  and 
his  wife.  On  the  other  side  lives  two  Italian  families,  including  10  persons. 
In  back  is  a  miserable  two  story  shanty,  inhabited  by  two  colored  groups. 
The  two  upper  rooms  of  this  shanty  are  lived  in  by  an  unmarried  man  and 
woman.  A  year  ago  these  rooms  were  occupied  by  a  white  man  and  his  wife 
who  had  tuberculosis.  No  pretense  was  made  towards  cleaning  up  premises. 
The  first  floor  of  this  shanty  is  lived  in  by  a  colored  man  and  his  wife,  the 
man  working  in  the  Borough  street  cleaning  department.  This  shanty  is  in 
a  condition  of  wretchedness  and  filth.  Toilet  on  the  back  porch  of  No.  15 
Lytle  is  used  by  owner  and  four  other  groups,  including  the  two  groups  in 
the  shanty,  the  negro  and  his  wife  upstairs  in  No.  15,  and  by  the  colored  family 
next  door,  whose  toilet  does  not  flush,  and  whose  house  is  in  filthy  and  broken 
down  condition.  This  makes  a  total  of  14  persons  who  use  this  toilet.  The 
Italian  also  owns  the  house  whose  number  is  13J^.  At  number  17,  which 
is  the  other  side  of  the  double  house,  the  two  Italian  families  use  the  one 
toilet,  which  is  dirty  and  ill-smelling.  In  addition  to  the  case  of  Tb.  already 
mentioned  in  connection  with  the  shanty  at  the  rear,  another  case  was 
reported  from  No.  15,  January  24th,  1912.  This  was  a  colored  girl  of  10 
years.  The  rents  of  15-17  amount  to  .?26.00  per  month,  and  that  of  13^-^  to 
$9.00.  Chickens,  rubbish,  dogs  add  to  the  general  confusion  and  dirt  of  these 
premises.  It  is  inconceival)Ie  that  Borough  citizens  should  allow  this  Italian 
to  maintain  these  premises  in  this  condition. 


21  — 


27  I   IS  Lytic  I  Colored        I     3    I     1     I I   12.00 

Single  House  of  four  rooms.  Residents  are  colored  woman,  her  husband 
and  baby,  and  one  iodncr.  The  house  is  vvell-niRh  uninhabitable  from  point 
of  view  of  rcjiair.  The  water  in  the  toilet  had  been  shut  olT  all  the  winter, 
and  at  the  time  of  inspection  it  was  in  outrageous  condition  of  filth,  com- 
parable only  to  the  one  mentioned  on  page  10  in  the  case  of  the  house  owned 
by  the  Chief  of  Police.  In  these  two  instances,  the  one  at  IS  Lytle,  and  the 
other  at  27  Lytle,  the  writer  took  witnesses  on  different  occasions,  for  the 
corroboration  of  the  alxjvc  testimony. 

28  I  30  Lytle  I  Colored        I    9    I    2    | '    12.50 

In  this  house  live  a  colored  family  of  9  persons  and  2  lodgers.  Abounding 
filth  and  disorder.  The  toilet  room  which  is  off  the  kitchen  has  no  ventilation 
to  the  outside  air.     The  house  has  no  cellar. 


29 


31-31^^  Lytle 


Colored 


8     Total . 
Occupants. 


20.50 
from 
2  ho. 


This  double  house  is  of  interest  because  it  involves  a  number  of  problems 
relating  to  the  health  and  sanitation  of  the  Borough.  On  one  side  lives 
a  colored  man  who  has  one  lodger  with  him.  This  dwelling  is  dark,  filthy 
and  ill  kept.  There  is  one  toilet  for  the  two  sides  of  the  house,  which  was 
^ut  of  order  at  the  time  of  inspection,  the  pipes  having  frozen  and  burst 
during  the  winter.  Yet  the  toilet  is  still  used,  and  this  man  keeps  a 
refreshment  stand  on  Nassau  St.  every  night  in  front  of  the  post  ofifice.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  house  at  Sl}i  lives  a  hard  working  colored  woman  and  a 
family  of  5  children.  The  woman  complains  bitterly  about  the  condition  of 
the  house,  there  being  no  cellar,  and  the  roof  leaking  badly  in  several  places. 
Tenants  attempted  suit  at  law  to  compel  landlord  to  fix  this  house,  but  with 
no  success.  The  woman  stated  also  that  the  house  was  infested  with  rats.  In 
a  lot  in  the  vicinity  of  this  house  a  dead  dog  had  been  allowed  to  lie  for  several 
weeks,  and  was  seen  in  state  of  decay  at  the  time  of  inspection.  From  this 
house  three  cases  of  tuberculosis  have  been  reported — colored  males  of  the  ages 

10,  12,  and  24  respectively.    The  dates  for  the  reports  of  these  cases  were  March 

11,  1912,  July  2,  and  September  25.  1915.  In  the  summer  of  1916  a  case  of  in- 
fantile paralysis  was  reported  from  this  house.  In  front  of  the  house  is  a  "Day 
Nursery"  sign,  the  woman  helping  to  eke  out  her  living  by  taking  care  of 
children  on  these  premises  while  their  mothers  are  away.  No  more  pathetic 
illustration  of  the  need  of  such  an  institution  in  the  Borough  could  be  imagined. 
This  house  with  a  food  handler  on  one  side  and  a  public  nurse  on  the  other 
forcibly  illustrates  the  menace  to  the  health  and  well-being  of  the  Borough 
constituted  by  the  intolerable  conditions  of  housing  and  sanitation  that  are 
allowed  to  continue. 


30  I  1  and  2  Tash's  Row  |  Colored      |    4    I     1    t    300   I    70     I  6.22  I  6.00 

This  house  at  No.  1  Tash's  Row,  and  another  like  it  at  No.  2,  have  the 
appearance  of  long,  low  chicken  coops.  Both  houses  are  but  slightly  set  up 
from  the  ground.  The  water  supply  for  \o.  1  is  a  pipe  outside  sticking  up  out 
of  the  ground.  There  is  no  sink  in  the  house  and  the  roof  leaks.  The  toilet 
is  set  between  No.  1  and  2,  and  is  the  only  one  for  four  dwellings  in  the  vicinity. 
In  the  three  rooms  of  No.  1  Tash's  row  live  a  colored  man,  his  wife,  2  children 
and  a  lodger.  No  2  Tash's  Row  is  just  like  No.  1,  and  was  vacant  at  the  time 
of  inspection,  a  single  man  having  moved  out  shortly  before.  The  cold  and 
dampness  of  these  premises  in  winter  can  readily  be  imagined.  They  were 
built  at  a  cost  of  §400. 

« 

—  22  — 


31  I  30  Clay  I  Colored        |    1    I    1    I |    290  I     4.881     1.30 

This  is  a  two  room  cabin  in  which  lives  an  old  colored  woman  for  whom  the 
town  has  been  paying  the  rent.  A  white  man,  not  her  husband,  lives  here 
with  her.  Toilet  and  water  supply  for  this  place  is  as  described  in  Case  30. 
The  place  is  unfit  for  habitation.  Inside  the  cabin  is  in  a  wretched  condition 
of  disorder  and  dirt.  Slops  are  frequently  thrown  out  into  the  street,  causing 
complaint  on  the  part  of  neighbors  across  the  street.  Attempt  has  been  fre- 
quently made  to  have  this  dwelling  condemned  and  vacated  by  order  of  the 
Board  of  Health,  but  no  action  had  been  taken  up  to  the  spring  of  1917. 

32  I   19  Clay  |  Colored        I    7    I    7    I    500  I    360  I   14.44)     9.00 

From  point  of  view  of  repair  this  house  is  perhaps  the  worst  visited  during 
present  investigation.  The  house  has  no  cellar;  roof  leaks  badly;  front  steps, 
piazza,  and  underpinnings  are  literally  rotting  away.  The  water  was  turned 
off  during  the  winter  to  prevent  freezing.    Extreme  poverty  apparent. 

33  I  23  Jackson  |  Colored        I    2    I    2    I | I I     5.00 

Tumble-down  house;  dark,  disorderly,  dirty  inside.  No  toilet  accommoda- 
tions, nor  water  supply,  except  open  well  in  front  of  house.  Neighbors  across 
the  street  complain  of  stench  in  summer  from  slops  thrown  out  from  this 
place.  Upstairs  bedroom  without  window.  Fortunately  this  place  has  been 
entirely  demolished,  and  another  house  moved  onto  the  site  since  investiga- 
tion was  made. 

34  9-13  Baker  |  Colored        I I 1 1 1 1 


This  is  a  tenement  block  tenanted  by  five  colored  families,  three  of  which 
were  visited.  These  three  families  consisted  of  16  persons  living  in  a  total  of 
11  rooms,  as  follows:  1  family  of  6  in  two  rooms;  1  family  of  4  in  three  rooms; 
1  family  of  6  in  six  rooms.  There  was  but  one  toilet  for  all  5  families  in  the 
block.  At  number  13  the  family  gets  its  water  from  a  spigot  in  the  cellar, 
where,  according  to  the  housewife,  sewer  water  accumulates.  The  stairs  are 
in  a  broken  and  dangerous  condition,  especially  for  the  children.  The  rent  for 
No.  13  is  $7.00.  The  other  two  families  lived  at  Number  9  Baker,  where  the 
premises  were  in  like  condition  of  dilapidation.  The  rents  for  the  downstairs 
and  upstairs  apartments  of  Number  9  are  $9.00  and  $12.00.  There  was  a 
suspected  case  of  Tb.  at  No.  9.  In  the  spring  of  1917  endeavor  was  being  made 
by  the  Board  of  Health  to  have  these  premises  condemned. 

Some   More   Favorable   Conditions, 

The  foregoing  description  of  34  instances,  involving  somewhat 
more  than  that  number  of  separate  dwellings  and  families,  reveals, 
perhaps,  the  worst  features  of  housing  in  the  section  of  the  Borough 
covered  by  the  present  inquiry.  Considering  that  a  total  of  152 
dwellings  were  covered  by  the  investigation,  it  should  be  noted  that 
these  34  cases  do  not  represent  the  actual  proportion  of  bad  housing 
in  the  total  number  of  dwellings.  The  above  detailed  cases  are  sim- 
ply typical  of  the  present  evils.  In  reality  over  80  of  the  152  dwell- 
ings present  glaring  housing  defects.  In  the  remaining  cases  condi- 
tions were  such  as  to  call  forth  no  special  comment,  or  they  were 
exceptionally  good.  The  latter  was  more  frequently  the  case  where 
the  families  owned  their  dwellings.  Among  the  negroes,  especially, 
numerous  instances  were  found  of  home  owners  whose  premises  re- 
vealed the  pride   which   these  owners   took  in   them.     Princeton   has 

—  23  — 


many  neRro  citizens,  who  have  lived  in  the  Borough  for  many  years, 
and  whose  earnings  have  been  put  into  the  acquisition  and  improve- 
ment of  their  homes.  Lots  have  been  cultivated  with  flower  and 
vegetable  gardens,  and  thrift  and  decency  abound.  To  these  persons 
who  are  a  civic  asset  great  injustice  is  done  by  the  existence  and 
tolerance  of  conditions  that  have  been  described.  Among  the  Italian 
home  owners  there  was  a  tendency  towards  utilizing  the  houses  to 
the  utmost  through   taking  in  of  lodgers. 

An  example  of  thrift  on  the  part  of  a  negro  home  owner  is  that 
of  a  negro  who  lives  with  his  family  at  the  lower  end  of  Witherspoon 
St.  The  house  is  small  and  old,  and  is  valued  on  the  tax  lists  of 
1916  at  $240.  But  this  humble  dwelling  is  orderly  and  cleanly.  The 
lot  on  which  the  house  is  situated  measures  60  by  100  feet,  and  is 
valued  at  $900.  On  this  lot  is  raised  most  of  the  vegetable  produce 
used  by  the  family.  The  negro  was  born  in  Princeton,  and  has 
worked  at  the  Nassau  Inn  for  21  years.  Another  example  of  per- 
sonal achievement  by  a  negro  is  that  of  one  who  lives  on  Birch  Ave- 
nue, just  outside  the  Borough.  An  excellent  house  in  this  case  is 
valued  at  over  .$2,000.  It  is  equipped  with  bath  room  and  steam  heat- 
ing apparatus.  The  owner  has  lived  in  Princeton  for  22  years,  and  is 
employed  on  one  of  the  estates  outside  the  Borough.  A  large  lot  be- 
longs with  this  house,  and  extensive  cultivation  was  under  way  at  the 
time   of  investigation. 

An  example  of  high  standards  among  Italian  home  owners  is  that 
of  a  young  Italian  living  at  the  lower  end  of  John  St..  who  is  acquir- 
ing his  house  and  lot  on  installments.  The  lot  is  valued  at  $.')00.  The 
house  is  being  remodeled  and  bath  room  installed.  Neatness  and 
order  characterized  this  household.  This  Italian  is  a  gardener  and 
has  lived  in  Princeton  9  years.  Besides  himself,  only  his  wife  and 
child  occupy  the  house. 

Other  examples  of  high  standards  of  living,  industry  and  thrift 
could  be  enumerated.  A  little  encouragement  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  removal  of  obstacles  to  good  sanitation  such  as  have 
been  described,  would  increase  home  pride  and  the  ambition  to  be- 
come home  owners  among  many  tenants  who  are  now  discouraged 
by  the  necessity  of  paying  rents  for  dwellings  wherein  it  is  difficult 
to  maintain  self  respect. 

Housing  Conditions  in  Other   Districts. 

It  should  be  noted  that  other  sections  of  the  Borough,  besides 
the  one  bounded  by  Witherspoon  and  John  Streets,  present  housing 
difficulties.  Sections  of  Charlton,  Ewing,  and  Humbert  streets  have 
grave  housing  defects  of  the  sort  already  described.  Evidence  for 
this  statement  was  not  secured  by  investigation  on  the  part  of  the 
writer,  but  comes  from  the  testimony  of  the  school  nurse  and  other 
social  workers  of  the  Borough.  Humbert  street  is  an  Italian  sec- 
tion. The  houses  here  are  on  the  whole  better  and  newer  than  in 
the  section  investigated;  but  unwholesome  overcrowding  prevails. 
Since  1912  in  the  small  Humbert  St.  area  .I  cases  of  tuberculosis  have 
been  reported  among  the  Italians.  In  the  Charlton  St.  district  4 
cases  of  tuberculosis  have  been  reported  during  the  same  period 
among  white  people  other  than  Italians.  If  tuberculosis  be  any  in- 
dication of  housing  defects,  the  section  including  Chestnut,  Maple, 
Spruce  and  Pine  streets  is  not  beyond  reproach.  In  this  section 
lives  a  more  skilled  artisan  class  than  is  the  case  in  the  Witherspoon 

—  24  — 


BcctJon,  In  the  former  eectlofl  no  less  than  11  eaies  of  tubercutoiii 
in  the  period  from  January,  1912,  to  May,  1917.  Alention  should  also 
be  made  of  the  region  southwest  of  the  Borough  and  outside  the 
Borough  limits,  popularly  known  as  the  Basin.  Here  no  toilets  con- 
nected with  sewers  have  been  installed,  and  the  region  is  notorious 
for  its  general  degradation  to  which  bad  housing  contributes.  It  is 
beyond  the  pale  of  Borough  laws  though  a  goodly  share  of  citizens' 
money  contributed  for  relief  and  amelioration  is  spent  on  families  in 
this  neighborhood.  It  should  not  therefore  be  beyond  the  pale  of 
consideration  in  any  general  plan  for  improvement. 

Some  Consequences  of  Continued  Neglect. 

It  should  be  needless  to  dwell  further  at  length  upon  the  conse- 
quences for  the  whole  community  of  the  present  state  of  affairs.  Per- 
haps the  most  fundamental  appeal  that  can  be  made  is  that  of  self- 
protection.  Through  the  custom  of  sending  washing  into,  and  taking 
housemaids  from  the  homes  of  the  Witherspoon  St.  region,  the  upper 
social  and  economic  classes  of  the  Borough,  including  many  students, 
come  into  daily  contact  with  people  that  live  in  unwholesome  and  un- 
sanitary surroundings.  The  writer  knows  personally  of  an  instance, 
elsewhere  than  in  Princeton,  of  tuberculosis  being  passed  on  to  two 
members  of  a  family  by  an  infected  housemaid.  The  Montclair  Board 
of  Health  for  a  small  fee  inspects  house  servants  upon  the  request 
of  their  employers.  He  knows  of  another  instance,  in  another  Uni- 
versity town,  where  typhoid  fever  was  brought  into  the  family  of  a 
college  teacher  that  sent  its  washing  into  a  home  where  typhoid 
was  present,  the  washing  sent  out  being  done  with  that  of  the  family 
where  disease  was  prevalent.  This  latter  case,  to  be  sure,  did  not 
necessarily  involve  a  housing  problem;  yet  it  is  evidence  to  the  fact 
that  disease  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  that  modern  community 
living,  by  creating  class  interdependence,  makes  no  one  group  im- 
mune from  disease  to  which  other  groups  are  liable.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  no  one  would  conclude  from  this  that  the  housing  prob- 
lem of  Princeton  would  be  solved,  for  the  employing  classes,  if  they 
would  just  cease  to  send  out  their  washing.  Such  ostrich-like  avoid- 
ance of  a  difficulty  would  hardly  do  credit  to  the  intelligence  of  the 
citizens. 

To  many  an  even  stronger  appeal  than  that  of  self-protection  can 
be  made  on  the  basis  of  community  self-respect.  In  Princeton  is 
to  be  found  a  tremendous  deal  of  highly  justifiable  local  pride.  To 
this  appeal  can  be  made  by  those  persons  upon  whom  the  burden 
must  fall  of  taking  the  initiative  in  stimulating  all  who  are  in  position 
of  responsibility. 


Chapter  III 
Responsibility  and  Leadership 

But  who  is  responsible  for  the  improvement  of  prevailing  con- 
ditions? As  in  all  community  matters,  responsibility  is  both  public 
and  private.  It  may  aid  to  enumerate  various  groups  whose  influence 
should  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  situation. 

Among  public  authorities  there  is  first  the  local  Board  of  Health. 

—  25  — 


It  has  already  a  Sanitary  Code,  containing,  as  has  been  shown,  pro- 
visions that  have  important  liearings  on  the  problem.  The  Police 
are  also  public  authorities  who  should  be  related  to  the  problem. 
Just  what  this  relationship  might  be  we  shall  see.  Again,  the  Borough 
Council  has  already  been  addressed  by  the  Mayor  with  reference  to 
housing  conditions,  and   its   aid  and   co-operation   is   indispensible. 

As  to  private  individuals  who  have  influence  in  the  situation,  one 
thinks  first  of  the  landlords.  For  the  most  part  the  landlords  in- 
volved in  this  investigation  appear  to  be  persons  in  moderate  circum- 
stances for  whom  house  owning  is  an  incident  rather  than  a  vocation. 
In  but  few  cases  were  persons  of  prominence  involved.  Apropos 
of  the  landlord  group  that  owns  the  properties  in  the  region  investi- 
gated, remark  was  made  to  the  writer  that  the  way  to  make  money 
in  Princeton  is  to  "get  a  shack  in  the  back  part  of  town  and  rent  it 
out  to  'niggers'."  Such  sentiments  are  likely  to  find  place  in  any 
community  where  opportunity  for  exploitation  exists,  and  where 
more  responsible  people  are  ignorant  of  the  real  conditions.  Con- 
sidering the  rents  as  given,  and  the  value  of  the  properties  as  taken 
from  the  tax  lists,  and  ignoring  repairs  that  are  seldom  made,  it  can 
be  figured,  that,  including  taxes,  all  the  way  from  10  to  40  percent 
is  realized  on  some  of  the  premises.  Of  course,  this  assumes  that 
the  houses  are  occupied  for  full  time,  and  that  rents  are  paid.  Of 
"jumping"  rents  there  are  unquestionably  instances,  though  to  what 
extent  it  is  difficult  to  say.  One  agent  for  a  number  of  houses  said 
that  rents  were  paid  more  easily  in  the  summer  when  work  was 
more  abundant,  but  that  his  company  did  not  tolerate  long  delays. 
A  store  keeper  told  the  writer  that  the  negroes  were  his  best  cus- 
tomers because  "no  one  expected  them  to  pay,  and  therefore  they 
were  extended  less  credit."  It  is  probable  that  experience  has  taught 
the  landlords  to  exact  payments  or  enforce  evictions  when  rents  are 
greatly  overdue.  Little  is  lost  by  vacancies,  due  to  the  great  demand 
for  houses  which  is  general  in  the  Borough;  and,  making  all  allow- 
ances for  failures  to  pay,  it  is  entirely  safe  to  say  that,  generally 
speaking,  inordinate  amounts  are  realized  on  the  houses  of  the  vv^ork- 
ing  people  in  Princeton.  Indeed,  experience  everywhere  has  taught 
that  poor  houses  are  highly  remunerative.  The  great  demand  for 
houses  in  Princeton  would  be  against  making  this  community  an 
exception  to  the  rule.  This  conclusion  should  stiffen  the  endeavor 
of  those  who  are  determined  that  no  longer  shall  a  few  persons  profit 
by  a  real  community  menace. 

Other  private  individuals  besides  landlords  who  could  be  factors 
in  the  improvement  of  conditions  are  persons  of  means  and  a  sense 
of  civic  duty.  Of  these  there  are  many  in  Princeton.  With  their 
aid  experiments  in  "4%  philanthropy"  that  have  been  successful  else- 
where could  be  repeated  in  Princeton.  Reference  will  be  made  at  a 
later  stage  of  this  discussion  to  successful  efforts  of  this  sort  on  be- 
half of  the  housing  of  negroes.  In  Princeton  beginnings  have  already 
been  made  by  the  House  Building  Company  which  has  the  distinction 
of  owning  some  of  the  best  as  well  as  some  of  the  worst  premises 
in  the  Borough.  The  newly  organized  Building  and  Loan  Associa- 
tion in  Princeton  is  further  evidence  that  initiative  is  not  lacking  for 
improved  housing;  though  organizations  of  the  latter  type  have  not 
elsewhere  been  conspicuously  successful  in  meeting  the  needs  for 
good  housing  among  the  lowest  economic  groups,  the  unskilled  wage 
earners.  Any  plan  which  would  not  place  the  needs  of  this  group  in 
Princeton  first  would  fail  entirely  to  solve  the  most  serious  and  men- 
acing aspects  of  the  problem. 

—  26  — 


Further  SuggeBtions. 

The  foregoing  enumeration  of  interested  persons  and  agencies 
in  public  or  private  capacity  has  been  made  so  as  to  orient  our 
sources  of  help.  Further  suggestions  as  to  what  might  be  done  are 
now  in  order. 

It  is  not.  altogether  unnecessary  that  further  agitation  be  carried 
on  to  convince  citizens  that  Princeton  has  a  housing  problem. 
A  member  of  influence  of  the  Borough  Council  in  conversing  with 
the  writer  resented  the  fact  that  conditions  were  being  investigated, 
and  asked  with  manifest  irritation,  "Well,  you  don't  find  any  worse 
conditions  here  than  you  find  in  any  other  place,  do  you?"  To  all 
such  persons  the  remark  of  Professor  Edward  A.  Steiner,  who  is 
informed  on  housing  conditions  in  this  country  and  abroad,  should 
be  of  consequence.  Upon  making  a  tour  of  inspection  of  some  of  the 
places  we  have  described  Professor  Steiner  stated  that  he  had  not 
seen  worse  conditions  in  Russia!  So  long  as  the  facts  are  unknown 
or  suppressed,  it  is  impossible  to  get  effective  action.  Such  action  is 
usually  difficult  enough  when  conditions  are  widely  known  and  con- 
firmed. From  any  broad  civic  point  of  view  the  suppression  of  the 
report  on  housing  conditions  among  negro  employees  of  the  Uni- 
versity, made  several  years  ago,  was  a  mistake.  As  a  result  of  that 
report  a  kind  of  protection  to  University  students  was  given  by  the 
discharge  of  the  negro  employees;  but  the  Borough  of  Princeton  has 
continued  to  be  burdened  with  an  excessive  rate  of  tuberculosis,  with 
degradation  among  large  numbers  of  its  people,  and  a  general  spirit 
of  apathy.  The  action  of  the  University  authorities  in  that  case  could 
not  exactly  be  called  a  contribution  to  civic  welfare. 

Besides  a  general  recognition  of  the  facts,  it  would  seem  that, 
before  intelligent  and  effective  action  can  be  taken  with  regard 
to  them,  there  should  be  brought  about  a  spirit  of  cooperation  be- 
tween the  various  persons,  officials,  and  community  agencies  that 
have  contacts  with  the  problem.  The  spirit  of  individualism  is  strong 
in  Princeton,  and  there  is  a  tendency  in  civic  efifort  for  individuals  to 
go  off  on  a  tangent,  to  the  detriment  of  cooperative  efifort.  Concen- 
tration of  effort  and  team  work  on  this  problem  might  accomplish 
much. 

Cooperation  is  hindered  by  the  custom  in  the  Borough  of  regard- 
ing community  issues  solely  from  the  point  of  view  of  partisan  poli- 
tics. No. great  amount  of  aid  to  local  problems  from  public  officials 
can  be  had  until  these  issues  can  be  regarded  apart  from  politics. 
In  a  community  that  has  a  great  university  and  a  Municipal  Refer- 
ence Bureau  in  its  midst  this  severance  between  community  problems 
and  local  politics  should  be  easy.  The  consequence  of  not  doing  so 
is  seen  in  the  attitude  of  a  public  official  who  declared  that  he 
could  not  agitate  for  certain  community  improvements  because  his 
political  motives  would  be  suspected. 

Possibilities  As  to  Help  from  Public  Authorities. 

With  a  clear  understanding  of  the  situation,  and  a  proper 
spirit  of  cooperation  it  is  possible  to  consider  definite  clues  to  a  solu- 
tion. To  this  the  agencies  of  the  Borough  government  itself  should 
make  a  contribution.     The  following  are  suggestions: 

(a)     The  Borough  Board  of  Health  should  take  the  matter  more 
—  27  — 


firmly  in  hand,  and  if  necessary,  include  within  its  budget  provision 
for  additional  inspectors,  so  that  knowledge  of  conditions  and  en- 
forcement of  the  Borough  laws  may  be  better  secured.  Some  work 
of  inspection  has  already  been  done  by  the  present  force,  but  with 
inconsequential  results.  One  cannot  help  remarking  that  the  Health 
OHicer  and  Sanitary  Inspector  have  an  almost  negligible  sense  of  the 
menace  of  present  conditions,  and  a  notion  that  it  was  of  little  im- 
portance to  the  community,  as  a  whole,  to  consider  how  the  "nig- 
gers" were  living.  To  what  extent  this  indifference  on  the  part  of 
employees  is  due  to  an  apathy  in  the  Board  of  Health  itself,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say.  But  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  a  great  many  peo- 
ple in  the  community  have  little  confidence  in  the  Board  of  Health, 
as  to  any  rigor  of  determination  to  do  anything.  Fumigation  of 
premises  after  tuberculosis  has  been  present  is  required  by  the  State 
Board  of  Health  and  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  (See 
Compiled  Statutes,  page  2730,  Para.  4,  "An  Act  Concerning  Tuber- 
culosis, etc.")  Yet  the  Health  Officer  stated  to  the  writer  that  he 
did  not  fumigate,  and  that  he  did  not  think  it  was  worth  while.  It 
is  true  that  modern  authorities  believe  that  a  general  soap  and  water 
cleaning  and  airing  is  more  effective  than  fumigation;  yet  in  lieu 
of  the  former,  which  is  hard  to  enforce,  the  latter  means  is  the  com- 
munity's only  safeguard. 

On  this  point  the  Montclair  Board  of  Health  states: 

"Disinfection  is  still  performed  in  Montclair  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  it  has  been  entirely  discontinued  in  a  number  of  communi- 
ties. We  feel  that  if  a  room  is  vacated  during  the  early  stages  of  any 
of  the  principal  diseases  there  is  the  possibility  of  infection  remain- 
ing on  bed  clothing  and  other  articles,  and  for  cases  of  this  kind 
disinfection  should  be  performed.  With  'our  present  limited  knowl- 
edge in  regard  to  tuberculosis  we  believe  that  disinfection  and  reno- 
vation are  reasonable  measures  for  preventing  the  transfer  of  in- 
fection, although  we  know  that  most  cases  of  this  disease  are  trans- 
mitted by  direct  contact  with  the  patient,  as  are  most  cases  of  scar- 
let fever  and  diphtheria.  H  terminal  disinfection  were  abolished,  it 
is  a  question  whether  parents  would  be  as  careful  during  the  course 
of  the  disease  to  keep  children  away  from  the  patient  as  they  now 
are  when  they  feel  that  there  is  a  danger  in  the  room  until  after  it 
has  been  disinfected.  It  is  hard  to  make  a  householder  see  any  dis- 
tinction between  the  degree  of  infction  during  the  early  and  late 
stages  of  the  disease,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  not  recommended  that 
disinfection  be  discontinued  at  present."  (Montclair  Board  of  Health 
Report,   1915,  p.  53.) 

In  Montclair  the  death  rate  from  tuberculosis  in  1915,  including 
deaths  occurring  at  the  County  Hospital,  located  in  Montclair,  was 
1.27  per  thousand;  in  Princeton  analogous  rate  for  year  ending  Octo- 
ber 31,  1915  w-as  1.41  per  thousand.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Montclair 
is  a  city  of  over  four  times  the  size  of  Princeton.  Yet  with  its  larger 
mortality  from  tuberculosis  the  Princeton  ofificials  do  not  think  it 
necessary  to  undertake  precautions  regarded  as  essential  by  the  offi- 
cials of  Montclair. 

(b)  The  Borough  Council  might  adopt  a  housing  code  as  other 
small  towns  have  done.  Such  a  code  should  be  based  upon  the  actual 
needs  of  housing  in  Princeton,  as  revealed  in  this  and  other  studies 
that  might  be  made.  Like  other  codes  it  should  include  minimum 
standards  of  housing  with  reference  to  light,  air,  physical  safety  from 

jtx^Si.  ""•  28  — 


injury  by  fire  and  from  dilapidated  condition  of  premises,  congestion, 
sanitation,  and  general  decency.  Such  a  code  should  have  reference 
not  only  to  new  dwellings,  but  also  to  the  remodeling  of  old  build- 
ings, where  this  is  necessary  in  order  to  comply  with  minimum  stan- 
dards. Proper  machinery  for  the  enforcement  of  the  code  should  be 
supplied. 

(c)  In  addition  to  the  establishment  of  a  housing  code,  the 
Council  might  authorize  a  committee  of  citizens  to  act  as  a  semi- 
official town  planning  board.  Massachusetts  towns  do  this  under 
special  requirement  of  state  law.  In  the  absence  of  any  state  law  in 
New  Jersey,  however,  Princeton  could  take  the  initiative  in  this  im- 
portant matter.  Such  a  board  could  plan  the  artistic  and  proper  social 
development  of  Princeton  for  a  long  period  in  the  future,  including 
such  features  as  parks,  recreation  centers,  schools,  forestation  and 
the  like.  It  could  conceivably  establish  minimum  aesthetic  standards 
for  new  houses,^  and  prevent  the  present  tendency,  which  permits 
Italian  and  other  contractors  to  build  ugly  dwellings,  which  are  no 
less  expensive  than  good  ones  of  the  same  quality.  These  projects, 
however,  are  for  the  future,  and  are  therefore  unlike  the  housing 
situation  which  we  have  described,  and  which  is  of  immediate  and 
paramount  importance. 

(d)  In  the  work  of  housing  inspection,  the  reporting  of  nuis- 
ances, and  the  investigation  of  the  justice  of  complaints  it  should  be 
possible  to  use  the  police  whose  present  duties  are  not  onerous.  Be- 
fore this  is  possible,  however,  it  would  be  desirable  to  develop  in 
the  police  a  greater  degree  of  social  intelligence  than  is  possessed  by 
the  present  chief,  who  has  the  distinction  of  owning  a  dwelling  which, 
for  weeks,  was  found  to  be  in  a  condition  of  intolerable  filth. 

(e)  A  more  rigorous  enforcement  of  the  law  concerning  nuis- 
ances is  desirable.  The  writer  was  led  to  seek  the  opinion  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health  regarding  prosecutions  under  the  nuisance 
sections  of  the  Sanitary  Code.  An  employee  of  the  State  Board  stated 
that,  if  the  evidence  is  properly  secured,  there  should  be  no  real 
difficulty  in  abating  real  nuisances  as  defined  in  the  code.  Never- 
theless, though  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  agitation  concerning 
particular  premises,  and  though  condemnation  proceedings  are  said 
to  have  been  instituted,  the  premises  are  still  occupied  in  a  condition 
inimical  to  the  health  of  tenants  and  the  community.  For  people 
who  are  in  earnest  concerning  the  improvement  of  conditions  it  is  of 
first  importance  to  determine  whether  delay  and  difficulties  with  re- 
gard to  prosecutions  are  due  to  real  obstacles  in  the  law,  or  rather 
to  a  lack  of  vigor  on  the  part  of  Borough  authorities. 

Aid  From  Private  Sources. 

(a)  Two  private  projects  already  undertaken  in  Princeton  sug- 
gest the  direction  for  further  endeavor.  The  first  is  the  block  of 
houses  at  the  foot  of  John  St.,  erected  and  owned  by  the  House 
Building  Company.  This  is  a  brick  block,  and  the  houses  are  by  far 
the  most  promising  development  in  this  section  of  town.  Eight  fam- 
ilies, mostly  negroes,  live  here  in  as  many  dwellings,  each  of  which 
has  its  own  water  supply  and  toilet.  The  precise  rents  were  not 
ascertained;  but  as  the  project  pays  7%  on  an  original  investment  of 
abrjut  $i:i,000,  it  is  probable  that,  including  a  certain  amoimt  for 
depreciation,  the  rents  range  from  $12  to  $!.''>,  which  is  not  more  than 
is  paid   for  dwellings   in   far   worse   condition.     The    very   fact  that   a 

—  29  — 


project  of  the  sort  does  pay  7%  shpuld  encourage  further  develop- 
ments of  the  same  sort.  If  the  owning  and  management  of  decent 
premises  pays,  it  should  not  he  difficult  to  encourage  further  build- 
ing of  a  ^emi-philanthropic  character.  Of  course,  the  price  of  ma- 
terials at  present  is  far  above  that  when  the  John  St.  houses  were 
built;  but  present  prices  are  abnormal,  and  after  the  war,  if  not  be- 
fore the  war  is  over,  it  should  be  possible  to  undertake  additional 
house  building  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  laboring  population  of  the 
Borough.  Such  a  proposal  makes  a  strong  appeal,  and  there  are 
many  people  in  Princeton  who  would  sympathize  with  it  and  aid  in 
its  fulfillment.  There  are  many  vacant  lots  in  this  part  of  town,  and, 
in  any  case,  it  would  be  possible  to  go  a  little  outside  the  Borough 
limits  for  such  a  project. 

A  description  of  house-building  of  this  sort,  developed  in  Cin- 
cinnati, to  meet  the  needs  of  white  and  colored  wage  earning  fam- 
ilies, is  to  be  found  in  "Low  Priced  Housing  for  Wage  Earners,"  by 
Jacob  G.  Schmidlapp  (National  Housing  Association  Publications, 
October,  1916.  10  cents.  105  East  22nd  St.,  New  York.)  It  is  there 
shown  that  an  extensive  housing  development  for  negro  and  white 
wage  earners  has  been  conducted  in  Cincinnati,  with  a  capital  of 
$250,000,  earning  5%.  The  houses  cost,  on  the  average  $250  per  room, 
including  the  cost  of  the  land.  Under  this  plan  the  Company  pays 
the  water  rent,  and  rents  houses  of  4  rooms,  including  bath  (for  no 
house  is  built  without  bath)  for  from  $7  to  $8  per  month.  The  houses 
are  so  arranged  as  to  allow  of  community  life  among  the  colored  and 
among  the  white  groups  respectively,  and  the  whole  experiment  is 
such  as  to  arrest  the  attention  of  Princeton  citizens  who  are  inter- 
ested in  doing  something  of  the  sort  on  a  smaller  scale.  Of  course, 
many  projects  of  similar  character  have  been  made  elsewhere.  In 
such  developments  there  is  usually  opportunities  allowed  for  the 
acquisition  of   the  houses   by  the  tenants  on  easy  terms. 

The  other  private  project  in  Princeton  which  holds  promise  is 
the  recent  organization  of  the  Building  and  Loan  Association.  It  is 
doubtful,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  whether  this  organization  can  meet 
the  needs  of  the  lower  economic  groups;  but  by  developing  homes 
for  the  upper  groups  of  skilled  workers,  clerks,  etc.,  congestion  will 
be  relieved,  and  indirectly  the  lower  groups  will  be  benefited.  It  is 
important  to  realize  that  housing  needs  in  Princeton  are  not  con- 
fined to  any  one  group,  but  are  general  among  instructors,  towns- 
people, and  laboring  groups.  One  factor  in  this  general  need  is  the 
presence  of  the  L'niversity  and  the  fact  that  on  the  East  and  West 
sides  of  the  Borough,  large  estates  prevent  further  development  of 
residence  sections. 

(b)  Through  private  effort  it  should  be  further  possible  to  em- 
ploy a  social  worker  as  rent  collector  among  the  working  people  of 
the  Borough.  A  trained  woman  working  in  this  capacity  could  do 
much  good  in  assisting  housewives  in  management,  and  in  helping 
well-intentioned  landlords  to  keep  properties  in  good  shape.  By 
such  a  person  the  standard  of  citizenship,  of  health,  and  of  cleanli- 
ness and  thrift  would  be  immensely  improved.  It  is  certain  that  some 
of  the  landlords  would  welcome  such  an  innovation  as  a  sound  busi- 
ness proposal. 

(c)  Finally,  until  some  of  the  conditions  have  been  dealt  with 
in  a  scientific  and  statemanlike  way  a  committee  of  citizens  on  hous- 
ing should  stand  together  to  carry  on  the  necessary  investigation, 
agitation,  and  encouragement  on  behalf  of  the  permanent  improve- 
ment of  Borough  housing  conditions. 

—  30  — 


PART  II. 


THE  PUBLIC  HEALTH 

CHAPTER  L 

Infant  Mortality 

One  indication  of  the  condition  of  health  in  a  community  is  to  be 
found  in  the  infant  and  cRild  mortality  rates.  On  this  point  a  com- 
parison of  Princeton  with  other  towns  of  the  same  size  in  the  state 
shows,  that,  whereas  conditions  are  better  in  Princeton  than  in  some 
of  the  New  Jersey  industrial  towns,  such  as  Roosevelt  and  South 
Amboy,  for  example, — yet  there  is  great  room  for  improvement  in  this 
matter  in  Princeton.  The  basis  for  the  foregoing  statement  is  con- 
tained in  the  data  presented  in  the  reports  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health  from  1911  to  1915  inclusive,  and  the  records  of  the  local 
Board  of  Health   for  1915  and  1916. 

At  the  outset  it  should  be  remarked  that  there  is  a  discrepancy 
between  the  vital  statistics  for  Princeton  as  found  in  the  State  Board 
of  Health  Reports  and  in  the  records  of  the  local  Board.  The  figures 
in  the  columns  that  follow  from  1910  to  1914  are  those  of  the  State 
Board  of  Health.  Where  the  local  records  vary,  their  figures  are 
given  in  parenthesis.  For  1915  and  1916  the  figures  are  from  the 
local   Board   of  Health. 

TABLE   VIII 

Mortality  Rates  for  Infants  under  1  Year  and  for  Children  under  5  Years  for  Prince- 
ton, from  1910  to  1916. 


%  Deaths 

%  Deaths 

Deaths 

Rate  per 

Deaths 

under  5 

under  1 

Year 

Births 

under 

1000 

under 

Total 

years  to 

year  to 

1  year 

Births 

5  years 

Deaths 

Total 
Deaths 

Total 
Deaths 

1910 

82 

9 

109.7 

11 

78 

14.1 

11.5 

1911 

99 

9 

90.9 

10 

73 

13.6 

12.3 

1912 

110  (95) 

9 

81 

13 

65 

20 

13.8 

1913 

103  (107) 

8(5) 

77.6 

10 

61  (63) 

16.3 

13.1 

1914 

118  (102) 

11 

93.2 

13 

73  (80) 

17.8 

15 

1915 

96 

11 

114.5 

16 

72 

19.3 

15.2 

1916 

124 

20 

161.29 

32 

78 

41 

25.6 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  birth  statistics  as  shown  by  local 
records  are  sometimes  less  than  those  of  the  State  Board  of  Health, 
because  births  of  Princeton  women  that  occur  in  the  Trenton  and 
other  hospitals  are  not  returned  to  the  local  Board  but  are  sent  in  to 
the  State  Board  of  Health.  But  why  the  local  records  should  ex- 
ceed those  of  the  state,  as  in  191.'},  is  hard  to  see.  The  disparity  is 
shown  for  the  three  years  191^  to  1914,  inclusive,  and  amounts  to  9 
on  the  average  for  each  of  these  years.     This  average  added  to  the 


—  31 


number  of  births  for  1915  and  191R  would  make  the  number  of  births 
for  those  years,  105  and  133,  respectively. 

This  would  make  the  infant  mortality  rates  for  the  years  in 
question  104.7  and  150.3,  instead  of  114.5  and  161.29,  assuming  that  the 
number  of  infant  deaths  remained  as  stated.  This  is  a  fair  assump- 
tion, as  there  appears  to  be  less  variation  between  the  local  and  state 
records  in  the  case  of  deaths  than  there  is  for  births. 

The  important  inference  from  the  foregoing  table  is  that  in 
recent  years  the  infant  inortality  rate  for  the  Borough  of  Princeton 
has  been  advancing,  until  in  1916,  it  reached  at  the  least  150  for  1000 
births.  The  general  rate  for  the  state  of  New  Jersey  in  1912  was 
124.  and  in  all  probability  it  has  been  reduced  since  that  time.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  infant  mortality  rate  is  being  reduced,  even  in 
large  cities.  The  New  York  infant  mortality  rate  has  been  reduced 
from  114  in  1907  to  96.1  in  1916.  This  general  tendency  has  been 
due  to  the  increasing  number  of  public  and  private  health  agencies 
that  seek  to  save  the  lives  of  babies.  The  tendency  in  Princeton 
during  recent  years  has  been  in  the  wrong  direction,  and  suggests 
that  more  should  be  done  for  infant  welfare  in  the  Borough. 

It  might  be  thought  that  the  high  rate  of  infant  mortality  for 
the  Borough  in  1916  was  due  to  the  prevalence  of  infantile  paralysis. 
But  that  disease  caused  the  death  of  only  3  infants  under  one  year 
of  age,  leaving  17  deaths  due  to  other  causes.  What  these  other 
causes  were  will  be  seen  from  a  table  that  is  submitted  further  on  in 
this  report.  (Table  IX.)  It  will  be  noted  in  the  last  column  of 
Table  VIII  that  the  percent  of  deaths  of  infants  under  one  year 
among  the  total  deaths  in  the  community  has  steadily  increased  from 
1910  to  1916.  In  1910  infant  deaths  constituted  11.5%  of  the  total 
deaths  in  the  community;  in  1916  they  constituted  25.6%  of  total 
deaths.     This  situation  should  be  one  of  grave  concern. 

If  one  considers  not  only  infant  deaths,  but  deaths  of  all  children 
under  5  years  of  age,  the  facts  concerning  Princeton  are  no  more 
reassuring.  In  the  ne.xt  to  the  last  column  in  Table  VIII  is  to  be 
found  the  percent  of  deaths  under  5  years  to  total  deaths  from  1910 
to  1916,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this  percent  has  increased  from 
14.1%  in  19l0  to  41%  in  1916.  Analagous  percents  are  given  in  the 
report  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Board  of  Health  for  1915  (page  27), 
giving  figures  for  1914,  for  40  New  Jersey  cities.  It  is  there  to  be 
seen  that  the  percentage  of  deaths  under  5  years  to  total  deaths 
varies  for  these  40  cities  from  11.1  (Red  Bank)  to  50.9  (Perth 
Amboy);  but  only  9  cities  have  a  percentage  of  over  30,  and  only  2 
cities  over  40  percent.  Princeton  shows  an  extraordinary  jump  in 
Table  VIII  from  19.3%  in  1915  to  41%  in  1916. 

The  following  table  gives  the  causes  of  death  for  32  infants  and 
children  under  5  years  of  age  in  Princeton  for  the  year  1916.  The 
tabic  shows  the  date  of  death,  the  cause  of  death  ascribed,  and  the 
nationality  or  rate  of  deceased.  The  figures  are  taken  from  the 
death  records  of  the  local  Board  of  Health. 


—  32  - 


TABLE  IX 

Causes  of  Death  of  32  Infants  and  Children  under  5  Years  of  age  in  Princeton  for  th« 
Year  1916,  showing  Race  of  Child,  and  Date  of  Death.  (1) 


Date 

of 
Death 
1916 


Jan.  1 
Mar.  2 
Sept.  28 
Feb.     3 

Apr.  4 
May     5 

Aug.     6 

Oct.      7 

Aug.  25 
May     8 

May  23 

Aug.  24 
Nov.  31 
July     9 

May  10 
June  11 

Sept.  26 
July  12 
July  13 
Aug.  14 

Aug.  15 
Sept.  16 
Oct.    30 

Sept.  17 
Sept.  18 

May  19 

Sept.  20 
Nov.  21 

Jan.    22 

Sept.  29 
Sept.  27 
Nov.  30 


Cause  of  Death 


Bronchitis 
Bronchitis 
Bronchitis 
Inflamatory 

Rheumatism 
Jaundice 
Malnutrition 

Malnutrition 

Malnutrition 

Malnutrition 
Pneumonia 

Pneumonia 

Pneumonia 
Pneumonia 
Broncho-Pneumonia 

Broncho-Pneumonia 
Broncho-Pneumonia 

Pneumonia 
Spasmophilia 
Marasmus 
Marasmus 

Anterior  Polio. 
Anterior  Polio. 
Anterior  Polio. 

Premature  Birth 
Atelectasis 

Acute  Colitis 

Acute  Colitis 
Laryngitis 

Burns 

Oedema  of  Brain 

Tuberculosis 

Burns 


Race  by  Age  Groups 


Under 
1  Month 


White 
American 


Colored 
White 
American 


Under  1  Year 
and  Over 
1  Month 


Italian 
Italian 


Italian 
Italian 
White 

American 
White 

American 
White 

American 

White 
American 


Colored 
White 
American 

Italian 
Italian 
White 

American 
Italian 
Italian 


White 

American 
Colored 


Under  5  Years 
and  Over 
1  Year 


Italian 


Colored 


White 

American 
Colored 
Colored 


Colored 


White 
American 


White 

American 
White 

American 
Colored 
Italian 
Italian 


(1.) — Competent  public  health  authorities  would  find  much  to  criticize  in  some  of  the  terms 
used  in  the  above  list.  (See  "Vital  Statistics,"  G.  C.  Whipple,  pages  269  ff.  John  Wiley  & 
Sons,  N.  Y.) 


—  33  — 


From  the  preceding  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  total  number 
of  deaths  for  those  under  1  year,  inchiding  those  under  1  month,  for 
T.m;  was  20.  As  the  number  of  births  during  the  year  was  124,  this 
would  make  the  infant  death  rate  per  1000  births  101.29;  or,  as  hereto- 
fore stated,  if  allowance  be  made  for  births  which  were  possibly  not 
recorded  in  the  local  records,  the  infant  death  rate  would  be  approxi- 
mately ir,0.  It  cannot  be  too  frequently  repeated  that  this  is  exces- 
sive. 

Attempt  is  made  in  the  following  table  to  distribute  the  infant 
deaths  among  the  three  principal  elements  of  the  population.  Whites, 
other  than  Italians,  Colored  and  Italians.  With  this  is  also  given  the 
number  of  births  for  each  of  these  groups,  so  that  the  death  rates  for 
infants  can  be  figured  for  each  group. 

The  data  are  taken  from  the  Princeton  Board  of  Health  records 
for  1916. 


TABLE   X 

Births  and  Deaths  Under  1  Year  of  Age  for  Whites, 

Negroes  and  Italians,  for  Princeton,  1916. 


Other 
Whites 

Negroes 

Italians 

Total 

No.  Births  .          

79 

9 

[113.9 

20 

3 

150 

25 

8 

320 

124 

No.  Deaths  under  1  year 

Infant  Death  Rate  per  1000  births 
General  Infant  Death  Rate 

20      . 
161.29 

From  the  above  table  it  is  seen  that  the  excessiveness  of  the 
infant  mortality  in  1916  is  greater  among  the  negroes  than  among 
the  whites,  and  still  greater  among  the  Italians  than  among  the 
negroes.  It  should  not  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  citizens  that  in 
1916  in  Princeton  about  one-third  of  the  Italian  infants  born  during 
the  year,   died. 

From  Table  IX  one  sees  that  in  addition  to  the  20  deaths  of 
infants  under  1  year  there  were  12  deaths  of  children  under  5  years, 
but  over  1  year.  So  far  as  there  is  any  difference  between  the  causes 
for  infant  deaths  and  for  child  deaths,  it  would  appear  that  pneu- 
monia and  broncho-pneumonia  figure  a  little  more  prominently  in 
the  child  deaths.  Also,  tuberculosis,  laryngitis,  oedema  of  brain,  are 
causes  of  child  deaths.  On  the  other  hand,  malnutrition,  marasmus, 
and  colitis  occur  mostly  among  infants  under  1  year.  There  was  one 
death  from  malnutrition  of  a  colored  child  under  5  years  of  age.  It 
is  deplorable  that  5  of  the  20  infant  deaths  in  1915  were  from  mal- 
nutrition or  marasmus,  which  is  an  extreme  form  of  malnutrition. 
In  other  communities  it  has  been  found  that  malnutrition  among 
children  increased  very  greatly  in  1916.  In  New  York  City  this  has 
been  attributed  to  the  increased  cost  of  food.  It  is  possible  that  the 
prevalence  of  malnutrition  in  Princeton  among  infants  in  1910  may 
be  due,  in  part,  at  least,  to  the  same  cause.  With  war  prices  there 
is  need  for  all  the  more  vigilance  and  aid  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
munity to  save  the  babies.  In  European  countries  during  the  war, 
though  the  birth  rates  have  been  cut,  the  effects  of  this  have  been 
partly  overcome  through  more  urgent  campaigns  for  baby  saving. 
In   England   during   1916  the   infant   mortality  was   brought   down   to 


—  34 


91,  the  lowest  rate  ever  recorded.  In  1913  h  was  108.  In  Scotland  a 
rate  of  126  in  1915  was  cut  to  97  in  1916.  All  this  spells  increased 
activity    for   infant    welfare. 

Besides  the  increase  in  child  and  infant  mortality,  another  feature 
of  the  situation  in  Princeton  for  1916  was  the  larger  ratio  of  child 
to  infant  deaths.  As  stated  above,  in  that  year  this  was  as  12  to  20. 
The  ratios  for  other  years  are  seen  in  the  following  tabk: 

TABLE  XI 

Ratio  of  Child  (under  5  years  but  not  under  1  year) 

to  Infant  Deatlis  (under  1  year)  1910  to  1916. 

1910  1911  1912  1913  1914  1915  1916 

4:9  1:9  4:9  2:8  2  :  11  5  :  11  12:   20 

In  general  it  may  be  stated  that  bad  sanitation  and  housing 
aflfect  the  child  death  rate,  under  5  years  of  age,  more  than  they  do 
the  infant  death  rate.  For  example,  a  community  night  spend  more 
care  upon  pregnant  mothers,  and  upon  their  children  during  the  first 
year.  This  would  presumably  cut  down  the  infant  mortality.  But 
if  nothing  were  done  to  remedy  grave  defects  in  housing  and  sani- 
tation, an  excessive  death  rate  for  children  under  five  years  of  age 
might  continue.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  problem  must  be 
attacke^d  from  both  angles  in  Princeton. 

The  following  table  shows  the  child  and  infant  deaths  by  months 
for  the  year  1910  in  Princeton: 

TABLE   XII 

Child  and  Infant  Deaths  in  Princeton  1916  According  to 

Months  in  Which  they  Occurred. 

Jan.    Feb.  Mar.  Apr.   May  June  July  Aug.  Sept.  Oct.    Nov.  Dec.     Total 
21115135823         ■■  32 

In  the  7  years  from  1910  to  1916,  inclusive,  105  children  under  5 
years  of  age  died  in  Princeton,  or  an  average  of  just  15  a  year.  Of 
these  105  deaths,  77  were  of  infants  under  1  year  of  age,  or  an 
average  of  11  infant  deaths  per  year.  The  New  Jersey  State 
Board  of  Health  bases  its  figures  for  child  mortality  upon  the  rate 
of  deaths  of  children  under  5  years  of  age  per  10,000  of  the  general 
population.  For  the  state  at  large  this  rate  has  been  steadily  de- 
clining since  1879.  (See  page  28,  39th  Report,  1915).  In  1879  the 
child  mortality  rate  for  New  Jersey  was  77.40  per  10,000  of  the  gen- 
eral population.  In  1914  it  had  been  reduced  to  36.04.  For  Princeton 
the  rates  on  this  basis  was  25.3  in  1910;  28.3  in  1915;  and  56.3  in  1916. 
These  figures  confirm  the  statement  previously  made  concerning  the 
tendency  with  regard  to  the  infant  mortality  rate,  namely,  that  in 
recent  years  the  tendency  in  Princeton  has  been  the  reverse  to  that 
in  the  state  at  large. 

A  better  indication  of  the  actual  situation  could  be  had  if,  instead 
of  the  general  population,  the  population  of  children  under  5  years 
of  age  were  used  as  a  basis  for  computing  the  child  mortality  rate. 
As  this  is  not  done  by  the  State  Board  of  Health,  the  writer,  using 
the  child  population  figures  as  a  basis,  as  given  in  the  State  Census 
for  1915,  has  made  the  following  comparison  of  9  cities  of  about  the 
size  of  Princeton,  with  regard  to  their  child  mortality  rates  for  1914. 

—  35  — 


TABLE.  XIII 

DentliH  of  Children  under  5  Years  of  Ade,  and  Death  Rates  per  1000  of  Child  Population 

In  9  New  Jersey  (Cities  of  Population  between  Five  and  Nine 

Thousand,  1914.    Also  General  Death  Rate. 


Child 

Population 

Death  Rate 

Population 

General 

City 

Deaths  Under  5 

under  5 

per  1000 

of  City 

Death 

Years 

Years 

Child 

1915  State 

Rate 

1915 

Population 

Under  5 

Years 

Census 

Rutherford,. .  . 

8 

620 

12.9 

8347 

8.46 

West  field, 

19 

757 

25 

8147 

11.30 

Roosevelt,  .  .  .  . 

72 

1363 

52.8 

8049 

19.01 

Nutley, 

20 

1033 

19.3 

7987 

11.02 

South  Amboy, 

37 

862 

42.9 

7482 

13.67 

Salem  City,.  .  . 

24 

596 

40.2 

6953 

17.03 

Ridgewood, .  . . 

7 

486 

14.4 

6729 

13.10 

Vineland, ..  .  .  . 

25 

683 

36.6 

6531 

20.06 

Princeton, 

13 

506 

25.6 

5678 

16.51 

In  the  above  table  the  towns  with  the  highest  child  mortality  rate, 
viz.,  Roosevelt,  South  Amboy,  are  very  largely  industrial.  Nutley, 
Salem  City,  and  Vineland  are  also  industrial  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent. Princeton,  which  is  non-industrial,  has  a  considerably  higher 
child  mortality  rate  than  the  industrial  town  of  Nutley.  With  nearly 
3000  less  population  than  Rutherford,  it  has  nearly  twice  the  child 
mortality  rate.  An  interesting  fact  that  comes  out  of  the  above 
table  is  that  a  town  like  South  Amboy  can  have  a  very  high  child 
mortality  rate,  and  yet  have  a  comparatively  low  general  death  rate. 
The  high  general  death  rate  of  Vineland  is  accounted  for  in  part  by 
the  presence  there  of  2  institutions  for  mental  defectives,  and  a  home 
for  the  aged. 

The  important  conclusion  from  such  a  table  is  that  for  the  year 
mentioned  the  child  mortality  in  Princeton  is  exceeded  by  that  of 
other  towns  of  its  size  in  the  state,  especially  where  the  towns  are 
industrial  in  character;  but  that  for  a  town  that  prides  itself  on  being 
non-industrial  there  is  great  room  for  improvement.  Especially, 
when  one  comes  to  the  years  1915  and  1916,  when  as  seen  in  Table  VIII 
the  number  of  child  deaths  under  5  years  jumps  to  16  and  32  respec- 
tively for  the  two  years,  should  the  situation  command  attention. 
For  in  1916,  with  an  infant  mortality  rate  of  150  per  1000  births, 
and  child  mortality  under  5  years  constituting  over  40%  of  the  total 
deaths,   the  condition   becomes  truly  alarming. 

What  Princeton  Lacks 

When  one  considers  what  is  at  present  done  in  Princeton  to 
prevent  infant  mortality,  one  thinks  of  the  Visiting  Nurse  Asso- 
ciation who  employs  one  nurse  for  the  town  work.  Where  all  forms 
of  sickness,  excepting  contagious  diseases,  and  the  care  of  infants 
and  their  mothers,  require  her  services,  there  is  possibly  too  much 
for  one  to  do.  The  Board  of  Health  does  nothing  except  examine 
the  milk  that  is  brought  into  town.  There  is  no  milk  station  for  the 
poorer  people  of  the  town;  there  is  no  dispensary  to  which  mothers 


—  36  — 


ean  come  and  receive  free  medical  advice,  concerning  themielvei 
when  pregnant,  and  their  children  when  they  are  born;  there  is 
apparently  no  active  propaganda  with  adequate  publicity  on  behalf 
of  infant  welfare.  Until  recently  an  irresponsible  midwife  of  ques- 
tionable moral  character  has  been  operating  in  the  town  among  the 
families  of  the  poor.  In  the  year  1913  the  then  Health  Officer  be- 
came concerned  over  the  activities  of  this  creature,  and  threatened 
to  prosecute  her  if  she  did  not  report  all  births  in  which  she  partici- 
pated. The  result  is  that  at  the  close  of  the  birth  records  for  the 
year  1913  one  finds  record  of  six  births  which  this  woman  had  at- 
tended. The  dates  of  these  previously  unrecorded  births  are  as 
follows:  1885,  1908,  1909,  1911;  in  two  additional  cases  the  years  were 
not  given.  In  regard  to  this  episode  one  need  only  say  that  the 
speedy  and  accurate  reporting  of  births  is  the  cornerstone  of  all 
infant  welfare  work. 

Since  the  experience  of  all  progressive  peoples  and  communities 
has  demonstrated  beyond  doubt  that  infant  welfare  is  purchasable  to 
a  high  degree,  it  would  be  expedient  for  the  Princeton  citizens  to 
seek  the  co-operation  of  the  Federal  Children's  Bureau  in  organizing 
a  "Baby  Week"  campaign,  and  adopting  familiar  measures  for  the 
promotion  of  infant  hygiene  that  have  been  effective  elsewhere. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Tuberculosis. 

Accompanying  this  report  is  a  map  showing  place  of  residence 
in  Princeton  from  which  were  reported  to  the  local  Board  of  Health 
90  cases  of  tuberculosis  from  January  1,  1912,  to  December  31,  1916.' 
92  cases  were  in  reality  thus  reported  during  this  period,  but  in  two 
instances  the  local  addresses  were  not  given.  From  the  reports  of 
the  State  Board  of  Health  it  is  ascertained  that  94  cases  of  this  disease 
occurred  within  the  Borough  from  November  1,  1911  to  December  31, 
1916.  These  cases  as  seen  on  the  map  are  distributed  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Borough  as  follows:  48  white  persons,  other  than 
Italians;  33   colored;   9    Italians. 

A  glance  of  the  map  will  show  that  the  majority  of  the  cases  were 
reported  from  the  district  that  was  included  in  the  housing  survey. 
There  are,  however,  a  large  number  of  cases  outside  this  district.  At 
the  following  places  more  than  one  case  has  been  reported  as  fol- 
lows: 

19  Murray  Place,  2  cases;  7  Jackson,  3  cases;  31  Lytle,  3  cases; 
13   Quarry,  2  cases;  54   Spruce,  3   cases;   48  Pine,  2  cases. 

The  data  for  the  following  table  concerning  deaths  from  tuber- 
culosis in  Princeton  Borough  are  taken  from  the  reports  of  the  New 
Jersey  State  Board  of  Health,  from  1911  to  1915  inclusive,  giving 
deaths  for  years  1910  to  1914  inclusive.  Figures  for  deaths  for  1915 
and  1916  are  taken  from  records  of  the  Princeton  Board  of  Health. 
The  death  rates  per  thousand  of  the  population  are  based  on  the 
population  figures  of  the  U.  S.  Census  of  1910,  of  the  New  Jersey 
State  Census  for  1915;  and  on  the  estimates  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health  for  the  remaining  years. 

'See  Map  II,  Appendix. 


—  37  — 


4201^^ 


TABLE   XIV 
Deaths  from  Tuberculosis  and   Death  Rates  In  Princeton,   1910  to  1916  (Inclusive) 
Also,  N.  J.  Mortality  Rates  from  Tuberculosis,  1910  to  1914. 


Tuber- 

Tuber- 

No. of 

culosis 

culoses 

Deaths 

Mortality 

Mortality 

Year 

Population 

Source  of  Estimate 

from 

Rate  per 

Rate 

of  Population 

Tuber- 

Ten Thou- 

per 10,000. 

culosis 

sand  of 
Population 

New  Jersey 
1910-1915 

1910 

5136 
4957 

U.  S.  Census 

16 

6 

31.1 
12.1 

15.2 

1911 

N.J.  Board  of  Health.  . 

14.9 

1912 

4779 

N.  J.  Board  of  Health.  . 

5 

10.4 

13.4 

1913 

4421 

N.  J.  Board  of  Health.  . 

2 

4.5 

13. 

1914 

4422 

N.  J.  Board  of  Health.  . 

9 

20.3 

13.2 

1915 

5678 

N.  J.  State  Census 

5* 

8.8 

13.2 

1916 

5914 

N.J.  Board  of  Health .  . 

8* 

13.5 

*These  figures  from  records  of  Borough  Board  of  Health. 

Average  population  for  7  j'ears 5044 

Average  No.  deaths  per  year 7.285 

Average  death  rate  per  10,000  per  year 14.4 

Average  death  rate  from  tuberculosis  for  New  Jersey,  1910-1915 13.8 

From  the  above  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  the  state  record,  ex- 
cept for  the  last  two  years,  from  1910  to  191"),  shows  a  steady  de- 
cline in  the  mortality  rate  from  tuberculosis.  The  record  for  Prince- 
ton, is  on  the  other  hand,  very  irregular.  There  is  a  decline  in  the 
seven  years  from  1910  to  1916,  to  be  sure,  from  the  extraordinary 
figure  of  31.1  in  1910  to  13.5  in  1916.  In  two  of  the  years  included, 
1910  and  1914  the  mortality  rate  from  tuberculosis  was  greater  in 
Princeton  than  in  the  state  as  a  whole.  The  rate  of  31.1  in  1910  ex- 
ceeds anything  in  the  state  since  1879,  which  is  as  far  back  as  recent 
reports  of  the  state  Board  of  Health  go.  Again,  the  figure  of  20.3 
in  1914  for  Princeton  has  not  been  exceeded  in  the  state  at  large 
since  1895.  The  figure  for  1916  in  Princeton  is  considerably  higher 
than  it  was  in  1911.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  average  for  7 
years  in  Princeton  is  higher  than  the  average  for  6  years  in  the  State. 

Again,  considering  the  deaths  from  tuberculosis  in  Princeton  let 
us  first  compare  the  percentages  for  the  state  as  a  whole,  and  for 
Princeton,  which  the  tuberculosis  deaths  are  of  the  total  mortality 
in  the  two  instances. 


—  38  — 


TABLE  XV 

Percents  of  Total  Deaths  which  Mortality  from  Tuberculosis  Constitutes,  for  the 
Borough  of  Princeton  and  for  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  1910-1915, 
also  for  Princeton  in  1916. 


Number  of  Deaths 

Year 

Per  Cent  for  New 

Per  Cent  for  Princeton 

from  Tuberculosis 

Jersey 

in  Princeton 

1910 

9.82 

20.51 

16 

1911 

10.12 

k8.21 

6 

1912 

9.59 

7.69 

5 

1913 

13.06 

4.9 

2 

1914 

9.45 

12.32 

9 

1915 

10.3 

6.94 

5 

1916 

10.25 

8 

Total  51 

As  seen  from  the  above  table  the  percent  of  deaths  which  tuber- 
culosis caused  of  the  total  deaths  in  Princeton  in  1910  and  1914  ex- 
ceeded the  corresponding  percent  for  the  state  as  a  whole.  In  1910 
a  fifth,  in  1914  nearly  an  eighth,  and  in  1916  a  tenth  of  all  the  deaths 
in  the  Borough  were  caused  by  tuberculosis.  The  report  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health  for  1911  shows  the  extraordinary  fact  that 
Princeton  had  in  1910  the  largest  death  rate  from  tuberculosis  of 
47  cities  enumerated.  It  was  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  smallest 
cities  in  the  list.  (See  report  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Board  of 
Health,  1911,  p.  53.) 

Of  the  90  cases  of  tuberculosis  shown  on  the  accompanying  map, 
occurring  from  January  1912  to  May  5,  1917,  the  race  distribution 
was  as  follows: 

48  white  persons,  other  than   Italians. 
33  colored  persons. 
9  Italians. 

Basing  estimates  upon  the  population  of  these  three  groups  as 
given  in  the  1915  state  census,  the  tuberculosis  morbidity  rates  per  ten 
thousand  of  the  white,  colored,  and  Italian  population  for  the  whole 
period  were  108.4,  321.3,  and  403.5  respectively.  The  incidence  of  this 
disease  therefore  appears  to  be  three  times  as  great  for  the  negroes 
as  for  the  whites,  and  nearly  four  times  as  great  for  the  Italians  as 
for  native  whites.  As  seen  from  the  map  the  greater  number  of  cases 
appear  to  be  coincident  with  the  worse  housing  areas  of  the  com- 
munity. There  is  therefore  not  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  the  ex- 
cessive mortality  and  morbidity  from  tuberculosis  in  Princeton  is 
definitely  associated  with  bad  housing  conditions  of  the  Borough 
which  have  been  fully  described  in  the  housing  section  of  this  report. 


—  39  — 


TABLE   XVT 

Aae  Distribution  of  90  Cases  of  Tuberculosis  Reported  to  Princeton  Board  of  Health 
from  Jan.  1,  1912,  to  Dec.  31,  1916. 


Arc  Group 
Under  5  years. . . . 

5-9  vears 

10-14  years 

15-1!)  years 

20-24  years 

25-29  years 

30-39  years 

40-49  years 

50  years  and  over 

Total 


Number  of 

Cases 

2 

1 

8 

5 
11 
11 
26 
15 
11 

90 


The  above  table  indicates  the  familiar  fact  that  tuberculosis 
makes  its  heaviest  ravages  among  youthful  and  middle  aged  persons 
whose  working  power  and  efficiency  should  be  at  the  highest  level. 
However,  11  of  the  cases  occur  among  children  under  15  years  of  age. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  cases  from  tuberculosis 
occurring  in  Princeton  and  10  other  New  Jersey  towns  of  between 
five  and  ten  thousand  inhabitants  from  November  1,  1911  to  Decem- 
ber 31,  1916. 


TABLE   XVII 

Tuberculosis  in  Princeton  and  10  other  New  Jersey  Cities  of  Five  to  Ten  Thousand 
Inhabitants.  Nov.  1,  1911,  to  Dec.  31,  1916.    Also  Per  Cent  of  For- 
eign Born  and  of  Negroes  in  These  Cities  In  1915. 


City 


Rutherford 

West  field 

Roosevelt 

Nutley 

South  Amboy .  . 
Ridgefield  Park. 

Salem  City 

South  River. . .  . 

Colli ngswood. . . 
Vineland ...... 

Princeton 


Population 

State 

Census 

1915 


8347 

8147 
8049 
7987 
7482 
7060 
6955 
6691 
6600 
6531 
5678 


No.  Cases 

Nov.  1, 

1911  to 

Dec.  31, 

1916 


36 
70 
46 
51 
22 
44 
56 
81 
78 
58 
94' 


Per  Cent 
of  Total 
Mortality 
Constituted 
by  Tuber- 
culosis in 
1914 


8.33 

4.83 

3.63 

12.65 

6.73 

1.73 


11.11 
12.32 


1915 
Per  Cent 
Foreign 

Born 


17 
20 
55 
25 
21 


52 

8 

26 

20 


1915 
Per  Cent 
Colored 


2 

6 

.01 

.01 

.02 


15 
.2 
.9 
3 

18 


♦This  figure  is  taken  from  the  State  Board  of  Health  Reports.     As  remarked  on  page  4*^  the 
figures  from  the  local  Board  of  Health  Records  is  92  cases  for  calendar  years  1912-1916. 

From  the   above   table   it   is   seen   that   though   Princeton   is   the 
smallest   of  the   12   cities  enumerated,  it  had   the   largest  number  of 


40  — 


cases  of  tuberculosis  during  the  period  enumerated,  and  the  percent 
of  mortality  due  to  tuberculosis  in  1914  is  next  to  the  largest  in 
Princeton. 

Some  light  on  this  situation  is  doubtless  thrown  by  a  study  of 
the  distribution  of  the  population,  as  regards  the  negroes  and  foreign 
born  in  these  communities.  It  is  seen  by  the  table  that  Princeton 
has  the  largest  percent  of  negro  population  of  any  city  in  the  group, 
amounting  in  l'J15  to  18  percent.  It  also  has  a  20  percent  foreign 
born  population.  As  most  of  the  negroes  and  a  large  proportion 
of  the  foreign  born  are  of  low  economic  standards,  a  partial  expla- 
nation of  Princeton's  excessive  tuberculosis  figures  is  here  to  be 
found.  Still,  it  is  also  seen  that  Roosevelt  and  Vineland  have  a 
larger  percent  of  foreign  born  in  1915  and  yet  a  lower  mortality 
percent  than  Princeton  from  tuberculosis.  Also,  Salem  City  has 
nearly  an  equal  percent  of  negroes  as  Princeton  and  yet  a  tuber- 
culosis mortality  percent  about  one-tenth  as  great. 

Another  criterion  as  to  the  character  of  the  population  of  the 
cities  in  the  foregoing  table  would  be  found  in  the  occupational 
grouping  of  the  inhabitants.  Data  of  interest  bearing  on  this  point 
is  to  be  found  in  the  1915  State  Census.  According  to  this  the  per- 
cent of  unskilled  laborers  among  the  total  number  classified  in  oc- 
cupational groups  was  as  follows: 

Rutherford    40%  South    Amboy..   34%  Collingswxjod     ...  2% 

Westfield     82%  Salem    City 25%  Vineland    16% 

Roosevelt    78%  Ridgewood    22%  Princeton    19% 

Nutley    16%i  South    River...   73% 

Allowing  for  a  reasonable  amount  of  discrepancy  between  the 
different  towns  as  to  what  is  meant  by  "unskilled  labor,"  it  is  still 
apparent  that  Princeton  has  fewer  unskilled  among  its  occupational 
groups  than  have  some  of  the  other  cities  enumerated.  This  simply 
means  that  Princeton  is  less  industrial  than  these  other  communities. 
It  should  be  a  matter  of  concern  to  the  citizens  of  Princeton  that 
with  a  much  smaller  industrial  population  than  Roosevelt,  for  ex- 
ample, Princeton  has  had  a  three  times  greater  tuberculosis  morbidity 
rate  in  the  five  year  period  from  1912  to  1916,  and  that  in  1914  tuber- 
culosis constituted  in  Princeton  over  3  times  the  percent  of  total 
mortality  than  it  did  in  Roosevelt. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  the  morbidity  from  tuberculosis  in 
Princeton  is  about  three  times  as  great  among  the  negroes  as  it  is 
among  the  whites.  This  ratio  for  the  incidence  of  this  disease  for 
the  two  races  is  found  elsewhere  in  the  state.  Unquestionably, 
therefore,  an  18  percent  negro  population  in  Princeton  is  a  factor 
in  the  high  morbidity  and  mortality  from  tuberculosis  in  Princeton. 
However,  the  total  explanation  is  not  therein  to  be  found.  Mont- 
clair,  for  example,  whose  population  in  1915  was  negro  to  the  extent 
of  12  percent  had  a  mortality  rate  from  tuberculosis  in  that  year 
of  12.4  per  ten  thousand,  as  compared  with  Princeton's  rate  of  8.8 
in  191.')  and  13.5  in  1916.  If  one  compares  Montclair  with  Princeton 
during  the  six  years  from  1910  to  1915  one  finds  that  the  average 
annqal  mortality  rate  from  tuberculosis,  per  ten  thousand  of  the 
population  during  this  period  was,  in   Montclair,   11.1  and  in   Prince- 

—  41  — 


ton,  13.6.  The  difference  in  the  percent  of  negroes  in  the  two  com- 
munities is  not  great  enough  to  account  for  this  difference  in  the 
tuberculosis  mortality  rates  for  the  two  communities.  We  are  thus 
led  to  consider  otlier  factors,  and,  again,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
long  neglected  housing  evils  of  Princeton,  together  with  laxity  of 
health  administration,  arc  additional  factors  in  its  tuberculosis  situa- 
tion. 


Suggestions  As  To  Tuberculosis 

It  is  apparent  to  any  reasonable  and  public  spirited  citizen  of 
the  Tlorough  that  more  preventive  work  needs  to  be  done  in  this 
matter.     The  writer  would  suggest  the  following  considerations: 

1.  That  the  tuberculosis  question  in  the  Borough  heretofore 
described  makes  it  imperative  that  an  attack  be  made  upon  existing 
housing  conditions  as  described  in  the  housing  section  of  this  report. 

2.  That  there  is  need  for  aggressive  agitation  and  educational 
measures  on  the  part  of  the  Board  of  Health  with  regard  to  the 
prevalence  of  tuberculosis  in  the  community,  and  to  ways  by  which 
individuals  may  protect  themselves  from  infection  when  living  in 
families  where  is  the  disease  is  present.  The  drastic  measure  of  the 
Montclair  Board  of  Health,  in  removing  a  child  under  16  years  of 
age  from  a  family  where  there  is  a  case  of  tuberculosis,  unless  the 
Board  is  satisfied  that  all  precautions  are  being  taken,  is  to  be  rec- 
ommended. Of  90  cases  from  January  1.  1912  to  Dec.  31,  1916,  in 
Princeton,  11  were  of  children  under  15  years  of  age.  It  is  certainly 
time   that   the   needless  infection  of  children   should   cease. 

3.  That  the  local  Anti-Tuberculosis  Society  should  redouble  its 
efforts  in  providing  proper  home  care  for  and  advice  to  incipient 
cases. 

4.  That  there  is  need  within  the  Borough  of  a  free  clinic  for 
the  examination  and  care  of  incipient  cases,  and  of  hospital  facilities 
for  cases  that  reach  the  advanced  stages  who  are  now  in  their  own 
homes  to  the  great  detriment  of  other  members  of  their  families. 

5.  That  the  State  law,  requiring  disinfection  after  cases  of  tub- 
erculosis have  left  the  homes,  be  enforced,  instead  of  remaining,  as 
now,  absolutely  disregarded  by  the  health  authorities. 

6.  That  the  tuberculosis  exhibit  that  has  been  prepared  by  the 
New  Jersey  State  Board  of  Health  be  secured  for  Princeton  and 
shown  at  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  town. 

7.  That  a  vigorous  campaign  be  launched  against  the  disease, 
engaging  the  active  cooperation  of  the  colored  people,  the  Italians, 
and  other  groups  whose  welfare  is  menaced  by  the  existing  state  of 
things.  The  colored  school,  churches,  lodges  should  all  be  invited 
to  cooperate  in  such  a  campaign:  also,  the  labor  unions  of  the  Bor- 
ough. If.  together  with  the  activities  of  these  agencies,  a  real  hous- 
ing program  could  be  launched,  the  citizens  could,  in  a  few  years, 
phenomenally  reduce  the  present  high  rates  of  sickness  and  death 
from  this  dread  disease. 

—  42  — 


CHAPTER  III. 

Typhoid  Fever  and  Other  Contagious  Diseases 

Data  As  To  Typhoid  Fever 

The  following  list  of  29  cities  shows  cases  of  typhoid  fever  re- 
ported from  these  cities  from  October  31,  1911  to  December  31,  1916, 
not  includinj^  the  months  of  November  and  December  1915.  These 
months  are,  omitted  because  beginning  January  1,  1916  the  State 
Board  of  Health  adopted  the  calendar  year  instead  of  the  year  from 
November  1  to  October  31;  and  this  change  left  these  months  for 
separate  tabulation.  The  result  of  the  omission  is  to  make  an  even 
5  year  period,  though  lacking  a  little  in  being  completely  consecutive. 
The  data  are  taken  from  unpublished  records  of  the  New  Jersey 
Board  of  Health.     The  cities  are  all  from  5,000  to  10,000  inhabitants. 

TABLE    XVIII 

Typhoid  Fever  Cases  and  Average  Number  per  10,000  Mean  Population  1910  to  1915 
for  certain  New  Jersey  Cities. 


City 


1.  Hammonton.  .  . 

2.  Burlington 

3.  Red  Bank 

4.  Rahway 

5.  Princeton 

6.  Woodbury 

7.  South  River.  . . . 

8.  Rutherford 

9.  Haddonfield.  .  .  . 

10.  Collingswood  .  .  . 

11.  Summit 

12.  Sommerville.  .  .  . 

13.  Vineland 

14.  Salem 

15.  South  Orange. .  . 

16.  Boundbrook.  .  .  . 

17.  Westfield 

18.  Ridgewood .  .  .  .  , 

19.  Dover 

20.  Guttenberg 

21.  Fort  Lee 

22.  Roosevelt 

23.  South  Amboy.. 

24.  Nutley 

25.  Boonton 

26.  Ridgefield  Park. 

27.  North  Plainfieki 

28.  Lodi 

29.  Madison 


Typhoid    Cases 
During  Period 

Nov.  1,  1911 
to  Dec.  31,  1916 

Exclusive  of 
Nov.  and  Dec. 
■     1915 


85 

70 

57 

51 

_49 

43 

35 

33 

33 

32 

31 

27 

27 

25 

25 

18 

18 

18 

17 

12 

10 

10 

9 

7 

7 

6 

5 

4 

2 


Mean 
Population 
1910  to  1915 

U.  S.  Ccnsbfe 

1910 
N.  J.  Censfc^ 

1915 


5492 

8705 

8014 

9461 

5407 

4965 

5731 

7696 

4609 

5697 

8318 

5559 

5956 

6783 

5940 

4551 

7283 

6072 

8219 

5984 

4880 

6917 

7244 

6998 

5063 

7060^ 

6077 

5258 

5143 


Average    Cases 

per  Year  per 

Ten  Tliousand 

of  Mean 

Population 


31 

16 

14 

1 

_18 
17 
12 
8 
14 
11 
7 
9 
9 
7 
8 
7 
4 
5 
4 
4 
4 
2 
2 
2 
2 
1^ 


1 
1 

/7 


*  Population  for  1915. 

**  Based  upon  1915  population. 


—  43  — 


From  the  foregoing  table  it  will  be  seen  that  Princeton  ranks 
fifth  in  the  number  of  cases  of  typhoid  reported  to  state  authorities 
during  the  "period  in  question.  In  the  second  column  is  a  statement 
of  the  mean  population  of  these  communities  lOlO-lOir),  as  based  upon 
the  Ihiited  States  Census  figures  for  1910,  and  the  New  Jersey 
State  Census  figures  for  1!)15.  In  the  third  column  is  a  statement 
of  the  average  number  of  cases  per  year  per  10,000  of  the  mean 
population  l".»l()-10iri,  for  each  of  the  communities.  A  more  precise 
population  I)ase  would  have  been  the  average  population  of  these  com- 
munities from  1912  to  1910,  but  as  this  is  not  ascertainable,  the  mean 
population  1910-1915  is  taken  as  sufficiently  satisfactory  for  our  pur- 
pose. This  is  to  show  how  Princeton  compares  with  other  com- 
munities of  nearly  the  same  size  with  regard  to  average  yearly  mor- 
bidity from  typhoid  over  a  period  of  years. 

It  will  be  seen  that  whereas  in  absolute  number  of  cases  Prince- 
ton ranks  fifth  in  the  list  of  29  cities,  in  the  average  number  of  cases 
per  year,  per  ten  thousand  of  the  mean  population  1910-1915,  it  ranks 
second  with  a  yearly  average  of  18  cases,  being  exceeded  only  by 
Hammonton  with  an  average  yearly  morbidity  of  31.  per  ten  thousand. 

Now  it  is  only  fair  to  qualify  this  summing  up  of  the  situation 
as  between  Princeton  and  other  comparable  communities  by  stating, 
that  in  the  population  estimate  for  Princeton  the  student  transient 
population  is  not  included.  Hence,  if  any  cases  of  typhoid  occurred 
among  the  student  population,  their  numbers  should  be  included  in 
the  population  for  purpose  of  making  an  estimate  of  the  typhoid 
morbidity  rate  per  ten  thousand  of  the  population.  The  number  of 
cases  of  typhoid  among  students  was  not  ascertained;  but  a  maxi- 
mum allowance  for  the  student  population  is  made  in  the  following: 

Mean   Borough  population   1910-1915    5407 

Princeton  Directory  estimate  of  University  and  Semi- 
nary Students,  not  appearing  among  Princeton 
names,    1915    1819 

Total     7226 

Taking  this  figure,  7226,  which  is  obviously  high,  (as  an  average 
of  the  student  population  over  the  period  would  be  less  than  the 
figure  for  1915,)  we  would  have  a  yearly  average  of  typhoid  cases 
in  Princeton  per  ten  thousand  of  population  of  13.  instead  of  18.  as 
given  in  the  table  where  the  communities  are  compared.  This  would 
place  Princeton  in  sixth  place  in  the  yearly  average  of  cases,  in- 
stead of  in  second. 

Of  course,  this  inclusion  of  the  entire  student  population  along 
with  the  Borough  population  assumes  that  the  incidence  of  this 
disease  among  the  students  is  as  high  as  among  the  general  popula- 
tion. This  assumption  is  probably  fallacious,  as  the  students  are  a 
selected  group  with  higher  standards  of  living,  and  presumably  pro- 
tected from  disease  by  the  Universitv  Health  Service,  as  well  as  by 
the  sanitary  measures  of  the   local   Board  of  Health. 

The  unescapable  conclusion  from  the  data  is  that  in  the  period 
in  question  the  prevalence  of  typhoid  fever  in  Princeton  has  been 
relatively  high  as  compared  with  its  prevalence  in  other  communities 
of  approximately  the  same  size. 

A  table  compiled  by  the  Borough  Health  Officer  in  1915  from 
the  Borough  records,  showing  occurrence  of  typhoid  in  the  Bor- 
ough from  1902  to  1915  is  as  follows: 

—  44  — 


TABLE  XIX 
Typhoid  Fever  Cases  in  Princeton,  1902  to  1916. 

Year  1902 '03 '04    '05    '06    '07    '08    '09    '10    '11    '12    '13    '14    '15    'IGTotal 
Cases  3     19       9       1       1       1       2       6       2       0      8     11     11     12       6     92 

Average  number  of  cases  per  year  1902  to  1916 6.133 

Mean  population  1900  to  1915 4788 

Average  number  cases  per  year  per  ten  thousand  of  mean  population. .       12.8 

The  incidence  of  death  from  typhoid  fever  in  Princeton  has 
been  not  commensurate  with  the  prevalence  of  the  disease,  there 
being  during  the  period  November  1,  1911  to  December  31,  1916, 
or  5  years  and  2  months,  only  3  deaths. 

Food  Protection  from  Contagious  Disease 

Considering  the  amount  of  community  protection  from  typhoid 
fever  and  other  contagious  diseases  one  may  say  that  this  involves 
control  of  food,  water  and  milk  supplies,  as  well  as  the  prevention 
of  contagion  through  contact  with  infected  persons.  A  word  may 
be  said  with  regard  to  each  of  these  kinds  of  protection  in  Princeton. 

Food 

With  regard  to  protection  of  food,  the  first  15  articles  of  the 
sanitary  code  are  devoted  to  this  subject.  These  sections  refer  to 
the  protection  of  food  from  flies  in  stores,  restaurants  and  upon 
delivery;  to  the  cleansing  of  dishes,  plates,  glasses  in  restaurants; 
to  the  sale  of  condemned  food;  to  the  use  of  well  water;  and  to  other 
matters.  The  effectiveness  of  these  sections  depends  upon  the 
amount  and  kind  of  inspection  conducted  by  the  Health  Officer. 
Occasional  inspections  are  made  by  this  officer,  and  during  the  period 
of  this  investigation  at  least  one  resturant  was  threatened  with  fine. 
There  is,  however,  no  provision  in  the  Sanitary  Code  for  the  ex- 
amination of  food  handlers,  a  matter  that  has  been  made  compul- 
sory in  the  city  of  Montclair.  The  writer  saw  a  man  with  con- 
junctivitis ("pink  eye")  serving  behind  a  food  counter.  It  was 
stated  to  the  writer,  moreover,  that  a  waiter  in  a  food  shop  was 
thought  to  be  responsible  for  one  outbreak  of  typhoid  in  recent 
years.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  standards  and  the  regularity  of  food 
inspection  in  the  Borough  are  inadequate.  It  is,  moreover,  un- 
doubtedly true  that  in  the  poorer  parts  of  town  the  absence  of 
screens,  and  the  prevalence  of  badly-flushed,  fly-breeding  toilets,  as 
described  in  the  housing  report,  submit  the  food  and  the  people  of 
this  part  of  town  to  the  dangers  of  infection.  It  is  conceivable  that 
the  high  rate  of  infant  mortality  with  which  Princeton  has  been  vis- 
ited in  some  years  bears  relation  to  the  failure  of  the  community 
to  abate  these  foul  toilets.  In  the  housing  report  mention  was  made 
of  a  negro  who  lived  in  filthy  condition,  in  a  double  house,  where 
there  had  been  three  deaths  from  tuberculosis  and  one  case  of 
infantile  paralysis  in  recent  years,  and  yet  who  was  permitted  by 
the  health  authorities  to  peddle  food  from  a  wagon  each  night  in 
front  of  the  post  office.  A  former  health  officer  told  the  writer  of 
another  negro  with  syphilis  who  was  found  selling  food  from  a 
"hot-dog"  wagon  on  a  day  of  one  of  the  big  university  games. 

—  45  — 


Water 

Willi  regard  lo  tlie  Princeton  water  supply  the  report  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health  for  1912  states  as  follows: 

"On  April  24,  1912,  an  inspection  was  made  of  the  water  supply 
system  of.  the  Princeton  Water  Company.  The  supply  is  derived 
from  two  deep  driven  wells  and  from  a  dug  well  into  which  lead  a 
number  of  terra  cotta  pipes  for  collecting  ground  water  some  dis- 
tance from  the  well.  The  water  from  the  driven  wells  is  pumped 
by  the  air  lift  process  into  an  open  concrete  reservoir,  having  a 
capacity  of  about  275,000  gallons.  Considerable  trouble  has  been  had 
with  microscopic  organisms  in  this  reservoir  during  the  summer 
months.  B.  coli  has  been  found  present  in  a  large  number  of  samples 
from  this  supply,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  source  of  this  is  from 
the  dust  from  the  neighboring  fields  blowing  into  the  open  reservoir. 
The   average   daily   consumption   is   about   275,000   gallons." 

The  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  for  1915  states  that  the 
supply  of  water  for  Princeton  is  from  4  wells,  that  it  is  given  no 
treatment,  and  that  the  daily  consumption  is  about  600,000.  There 
seems  to  be  no  question  raised  in  the  latter  report  concerning  the 
wholesomeness  of  the  Princeton  water.  Unfortunately,  for  the 
poorer  people,  of  the  Borough,  however,  the  rates  for  water  in  Prince- 
ton are  among  the  highest  in  the  state.  (See  Statistics  of  Public 
Utilities,  1914,  p.  219,  published  by  Public  Utility  Commission  of  N. 
J.)  The  effect  of  high  rates  upon  the  general  health  of  the  com- 
munity would  be  hard  to  measure,  though  they  are  undoubtedly  to 
some  degree  detrimental. 

In  the  report  on  Housing  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  a 
number  of  wells  within  the  Borough  limits  were  still  being  used 
for  drinking  purposes.  This  is  a  direct  violation  of  Section  13  of 
the   Sanitary   Code. 

Milk 

With  regard  to  the  milk  supply  of  the  Borough,  the  source  is 
to  be  found  in  ;{4  dairies,  and  the  supply  is  distributed  by  17  dealers. 
Inspection  of  the  dairies  is  made  twice  a  year  by  the  local  Health 
Officer.  Milk  tests  are  made  each  month,  and  the  dealers  are  rated, 
the  ratings  being  published  in  the  local  newspaper.  Suspicious  deal- 
ers are  carefully  scrutinized.  In  1911  the  State  Board  of  Health 
inspected  the  dairies  that  supplied  Princeton  and  gave  them  an  aver- 
age score  of  62.75  per  cent.  In  April,  .1912,  anotlier  inspection  was 
made  which  showed  an  average  of  72.75  per  cent.  The  report  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health  for  1912  has  the  following  comment  upon  the 
milk  situation  in  Princeton: 

"During  the  past  year  the  dairymen  supplying  Princeton  with 
milk  have  held  meetings  and  conferences  with  the  health  authorities, 
and  a  scheme  now  in  operation  awards  prizes  to  producers  having 
low  bacterial  counts.  The  dairy  scores  in  this  locality  have  hereto- 
fore been  published  in  the  local  weekly  paper  but  the  results  of  the 
coming  dairy  inspections  will  be  published  on  bulletins  which  will  be 
posted  in  store  windows,  the  public  library  and  the  public  schools. 
The  prizes  consist  of  $15,  $10,  and  a  silver  loving  cup,  this  last  prize 
to  be  given  to  the  milk  dealer  who  has  the  highest  standing  for  the 
year.  Dairy  score,  bacterial  analyses,  and  richness  of  milk  enter  into 
the  scheme  for  rating  the  milk  supplies." 

In  the  reports  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  since  1912  there  is 
—  46  — 


no  mention  of  the  Princeton  milk  situation;  nor  has  the  method  of 
awarding  prizes  to  dairymen  been  pursued  in  recent  years.  In  1915 
the  tlien  Health  Officer  attributed  5  of  the  12  cases  of  typhoid  occur- 
ring that  year  to  milk. 

Comparative   Requirements   Concerning  Milk   as   Between  Princeton 

and  Montclair 

The  following  comparison  between  Princeton  and  Montclair 
with  regard  to  provisions  in  the  Sanitary  Codes  of  these  two  com- 
munities for  the  protection  of  the  milk  supply  may  be  of  interest: 


PRINCETON 

Sanitary   Code,  Adopted  Jan.   17, 
1916 

1  Milk  dealers  must  supply  list 
of  names  of  dairies  supply- 
ing them. 

2  Dairies  inspected  by  Health 
Officer.  No  dairy  can  ship 
that  has  rating  of  less  than 
60  percent,  as  per  record  of 
N.  J.   State  Board  of  Health. 

3  Very  general  provisions  of 
5J/2  lines  concerning  cleanli- 
ness of  dairies  and  stables, 
and  care  of  animals. 

4  No    provisions. 

5  No    provisions. 

6  Maximum  Bacteria  count  al- 
lowed 500,000  per  cu.  centi- 
meter. 

7  No  provision. 

8  No  provision. 

9  No    provision. 

10  Penalty  for  each  violation  of 
Code,    $2. 

11  Infant  Mortality  rates: 

*  1915,     104    to    114    per    1000 
births. 

*  1916,     150    to    161    per    1000 
births. 

12  Percent  of  total  deaths  con- 
stituted by  deaths  of  chil- 
dren under  5  years  of  age, 

1915.  19.3  percent. 

1916.  41      percent. 

13  Morbidity  from  Typhoid 
Fever   per    10,000  inhabitants, 

.including     Univ.     and     Semi- 
nary. ,^as    \vlell    as     Borpugh 
■pop.:    1915,  16.5 
*The    lower    rate    means    that 
maximum   allowance   is   made  for 
births    of    Princeton    mothers   oc- 
curring possibly  in  Trenton.     See 
Chapter  1,   Part   II,   Infant  Mor- 
tality. 


MONTCLAIR 

Sjmitary  Code,  Adopted  May  20, 
1907 

1  Same  provision;  and  also 
must  supply  names  of  per- 
sons to  whom  is  sold;  also, 
names  of  persons  from  whom 
ice    for    cooling    is    obtained. 

2  Dairies  inspected  by  veter- 
inarian   of    Board    of    Health. 

3  Very  specific  provisions  of 
40   lines   concerning  same. 

4  Certificate  of  Health  for 
each  cow  in  herd  from  some 
approved  veterinarian  re- 
quired yearly;  such  ctf.  to 
include  evidence  of  tubercu- 
lin test  having  been  given; 
all  cows  that  react  to  be  re- 
moved at  once  from  herd, 
and  ctfs.  to  be  filed  for  new 
additions  to  herd. 

5  Specific  provisions  concern- 
ing cleanliness  of  cows. 

6  Maximum  allowed,  100,000 
per  cu.  centimeter. 

7  No  milk  from  dealer  who 
handles  a  supply  not  ap- 
proved by  Board  of  Health, 
as  well  as  one  that  is  so  ap- 
proved. 

8  No  use  of  distillery  or  brew- 
ery grain  permitted  in  feed- 
ing cows. 

9  No  milk  to  be  delivered, 
stored  or  transported  at  over 
50   degrees    F. 

10  Penalty     for     each     violation 
$25. 

11  Infant    Mortality    rates: 

1915,    65    per    1000   births. 

12  Same: 

1915,   16.7  percent. 

13  Morbidity       from       Typhoid 
Fever  per  10,000  inhabitants: 

1915:   2.8. 


47  — 


Unquestionably,  other  factors  besides  the  kind  of  control  exer- 
cised over  milk  are  responsible  for  the  excessive  rates  of  infant  mor- 
tality and  the  excessive  incidence  of  typhoid  in  Princeton  as  com- 
pared with  Montclair;  yet  it  is  more  than  possible  that  some  of  this 
difference  prevailing  between  the  two  communities  can  be  accounted 
for  by  the  difference  in  standards  of  milk  control  in  these  cities. 

The  Princeton  Sanitary  Code  contains  the  salutary  provision  to 
the  effect  that  no  milk  bottles  or  other  containers  can  be  removed 
from  a  house  where  there  has  been  communicable  disease,  unless 
they  have  been  properly  sterilized  under  the  direction  of  the  Board 
of  Health.  But  the  fact  that  part  of  the  population  of  the  Princeton 
community  lives  outside  the  Borough  limits  prevents  the  health 
authorities  from  having  the  entire  jurisdiction  that  they  should  have 
in  this  matter. 

Contact  with  Infectious  Persons 

With  regard  to  prevention  of  contagion  by  contact  with  infect- 
ious persons,  the  Sanitary  Code  gives  the  health  authorities  full 
power  for  the  examination,  removal,  and  isolation  of  such  persons. 
But  the  fact  that  the  Borough  suffers  at  different  times  each  year  a 
great  influx  of  people  who  come  to  see  the  big  games  or  attend  col- 
lege festivities  aggravates  the  problems  involved  in  the  spread  of 
contagious  diseases  by  contact. 

In  the  matter  of  the  control  of  children's  diseases  a  real  handi- 
cap exists  in  the  fact  that  no  medical  supervision  is  exercised  over 
the  children  in  the  Parochial  School,  whose  enrollment  in  1915  was 
139,  or  more  than  one-fourth  the  number  attending  the  Public 
Schools  of  the  Borough.  In  1910  an  epidemic  of  measles,  which  was 
said  to  have  arisen  in  the  Parochial  School,  affected  383  persons, 
mostly  children,  before  it  abated.  The  total  school  enrollment,  in- 
cluding those   in   private  and  parochial  schools  in   1915  was  824. 

Further  Statistical  Data 

At  times  the  Borough  seems  to  be  hard  hit  with  contagious 
disease.  For  example,  in  the  year  ending  Oct.  31,  1915,  there  are 
recorded  in  the  statistics  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  for  Princeton 
17  cases  of  tuberculosis,  16  of  diphtheria,  14  of  typhoid  fever,  66  of 
malaria,  and  14  of  scarlet  fever.  In  the  year  ending  October  31,  1913, 
there  were  recorded  32  cases  of  scarlet  fever.  From  November  1, 
1911,  to  December  31,  1916,  there  were  reported  from  the  Borough 
283  cases  of  malaria.  Aside  from  the  special  university  occasions 
of  ingress  and  egress,  the  usual  going  and  coming  of  students  has 
probably  something  to  do  with  the  rate  of  morbidity  from  some  of 
the  contagious  diseases,  though  tuberculosis  and  malaria  would  not 
thereby  be  affected. 

In  the  summer  of  1916  the  epidemic  of  anterior  poliomyelitis 
occurred  in  Princeton,  causing  16  cases  and  8  deaths.  The  death 
rate  for  this  number  of  cases  was  unusually  high. 

Table  XX  shows  the  cases  of  and  deaths  from  certain  contagious 
diseases  in  11  New  Jersey  towns  from  November  1,  1911,  to  Decem- 
ber 31,  1916.  The  cities  are  those  of  from  5,000  to  10,000  inhabitants, 
and  are  therefore  comparable.  The  towns  are  the  same  for  which 
previous  comparisons  in  regard  to  tuberculosis  and  infant  mortality 
have  been  made  in  other  sections  of  this  study.  Not  counting  the 
transient  student  population,  Princeton  is  the  smallest  of  these  11 
communities. 

—  48  — 


TABLE  XX 

Table  showing  number  of  Cases  and  Deaths  from  certain  Diseases  in  11  New  Jersey  Cities  from  November 
1,  1911  to  December  31,  1916.     Cities  are  those  of  from  5,000  to  10,000  inhabitants. 


City   Population 
1915 


Rutherford 8347 

Wcstfield 8147 

Roosevelt 8049 

Nutley 7987 

South  Amboy 7482 

Salem  City 6953 

Ridgewood 6729 

South  River 6691 

■  Collingvvood 6600 

Vineland 6531 

PRINCETON 5678** 


Tubercu- 
losis 


36 

70 
46 
51 
22 

56 
06 
81 
78 
58 
94 


26 

34 
23 
34 
22 
60 
33 
47 
42 
63 
40 


Diphtheria 


C. 


46 
40 
41 
27 
46 
33 
38 
38 
44 
72 
36 


Typhoid 
Fever 


33 

18 
10 

7 
9 
25 
18 
35 
32 
27 
54 


Malaria 


C. 


6 

283 


Ant.  Pol. 


10 
9 
2 

19 
5 

24 
1 
2 
5 

15 

18 


Scarlett 
Fever 


46 

3 

25 

1 

12 

1* 

20* 

1* 

41 

1 

39 

0 

18 

0 

25 

3 

31 

0 

11 

0 

50 

0 

tScarlet  Fever  cases  and  deaths  are  for  the  period  Nov.  1,  1912  to  Oct.  31,  1915. 

*For  two  years  only;  viz.,  Nov.  1,  1912  to  Oct.  31,  1913  and  Nov.  1,  1914  to  Oct.  31,  1915. 

**This  is  the  Borough  population  exclusive  of  students  at  University  and  Seminary. 

Among -the  cities  enumerated  during  the  period  in  question 
Princeton  has  the  largest  number  of  cases  reported  from  tubercu- 
losis, typhoid  fever,  malaria  and  scarlet  fever.  The  deaths  in  Prince- 
ton from  anterior  poliomyelitis  are  the  greatest  in  number  of  any 
city  in  the  table;  in  the  number  of  cases  from  this  disease  Princeton 
ranks  third  on  the  list.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  diptheria 
Princeton  appears  to  rank  low.  But  the  record  as  a  whole  does  not 
speak  well  for  sanitary  control  within  the  Borough. 

Malaria 

With  regard  to  the  control  and  abatement  of  malaria  in  Prince- 
ton the  following  statement  is  made  in  the  "Princeton  Packet"  in 
the  spring  of  1917: 

"In  a  paper  read  before  the  New  Jersey  Mosquito  Extermina- 
tion Association  at  their  fourth  annual  convention,  held  at  the  hotel 
Traymore,  Atlantic  City,  Dr.  Ulric  Dahlgren  told  the  members  how 
malaria  in  Princeton  dropped  from  127  cases  in  1914  to  only  8  in 
1916.  It  was  found  that  malaria  was  being  spread  by  the  mosquito, 
he  said. 

One  of  the  worst  spots  for  mosquito  breeding  in  this  territory 
was  "The  Basin"  a  mile  south  of  the  town,  along  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal,  which  for  years  has  been  in  disuse.  The  work  of 
draining  the  area  adjacent  to  this  basin,  and  the  streams  near  it,  was 
undertaken  by  the  Princeton  Board  of  Health  in  conjunction  with 
the  University,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  the  Rockefeller  Insti- 
tute, the  Walker-Gordon  Farm,  State  Board  of  Health,  New  Jersey 
Experiment  Station,  and  the  Mercer  County  Mosquito  Extermina- 
tion Commission,  under  the  direction  of  Charles  S.  Sincerbeaux, 
Civil  Engineer. 

Preliminary  investigation,  said  Dr.  Dahlgren,  showed  that  the 
malaria  carrying  mosquitos  bred  in  this  territory  and  flew  from  it 
as  far  as  Princeton.  Results  already  obtained  have  encouraged  the 
Princeton  and  Mercer  County  authorities,  and  it  is  hoped  that  enough 
funds  will  be  available  to  cf)mplete  the  work.  With  the  breeding 
places  gone  the  mosquito  will  die  out  and  malaria  cannot  be  trans- 
mitted." 


49 


The  Drastic  Standards  of  Montclair 

It  is  with  no  desire  to  make  invidious  comparisons  between 
Princeton,  especially,  and  Montclair.  that  standards  of  the  latter  city 
with  regard  to  protection  from  contagious  diseases  are  outlined  in 
what  is  to  follow.  The  standards  of  Montclair  in  health  matters  have 
achieved  an  almost  national  recognition,  and  many  other  communi- 
ties  might  well  consider  them. 

In  1913  Montclair  issued  a  hand  book  on  Communicable  Diseases 
for  use  of  physicians,  families,  nurses,  teachers,  and  others.  This 
handbook  gives  a  simple  intelligible  outline  of  the  nature  of  com- 
municable diseases  to  which  a  community  like  Montclair  is  liable.  It 
also  stipulates  regulations  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  that  city  with 
regard  to  these  diseases.  The  following  is  a  condensed  statement 
of  some  of  these  important  and  unusually  drastic  regulations,  and 
of  the  activities  of  the  Board  of  Health. 

In  the  case  of  contagious  diseases  whenever  authorities  deem  it 
necessary  notice  of  cases  are  given  to  the  milkman,  public  library, 
principles  of  schools  attended  by  children  of  a  family  in  which  a 
case  develops.  Disinfection  is  performed,  whenever  compulsory  by 
the  Code,  or  whenever  a  citizen  requests  it.  Specimens  are  ex- 
amined, free  of  charge,  from  suspected  or  actual  cases  of  diptheria, 
typhoid  fever,  tuberculosis,  malaria,  or  venereal  diseases,  provided 
the  patient  lives  in  Montclair.  Any  kind  of  immunizing  or  curative 
sera  or  vaccine  is  furnislied  free  to  indigent  persons.  A  nurse  is 
employed  by  the  Board  for  tuberculous  cases,  and  for  infant  and 
maternal  hygiene. 

In  scarlet  fever  cases  the  following  are  highly  protective  meas- 
ures enforced.  After  visit  by  inspector,  if  the  case  occurs  in  a  house 
where  there  are  three  or  more  families,  compulsory  removal  to  a 
hospital  is  required,  unless  the  apartment  in  which  the  patient  re- 
sides can  be  completely  isolated  through  private  entrances  and 
toilets.  In  case  the  patient  cannot  pay  for  the  hospital  treatment, 
the  expense  is  borne  by  the  Board  of  Health  which  makes  the  ar- 
rangement with  the  hospital.  In  no  case  will  children  who  live  in  a 
house  in  which  there  is  a  case  of  scarlet  fever  be  allowed  to  attend 
school,  Sunday  school,  or  any  other  gathering  of  children.  No  teach- 
er is  allowed  to  enter  a  school  building  while  living  in  a  house  in 
which  a  case  of  scarlet  fever  exists.  In  no  case  will  a  wage  earner 
be  allowed  to  go  to  his  business,  if  he  be  a  conductor  or  motorman, 
or  if  he  be  connected  with  a  store,  postoffice,  milk  business,  or  other 
place  where  the  public  might  be  exposed, — if  he  lives  in  a  house 
where  scarlet  fever  exists.  No  articles  shall  be  taken  to  a  public 
laundry  from  a  house  that  is  placarded  for  scarlet  fever,  nor  can  they 
be  sent  out  to  a  private  individual.  No  person  may  remove  milk 
bottles  from  a  house  or  apartment  where  there  is  scarlet  fever,  un- 
less these  are  disinfected  by  the  Board  of  Health.  If  the  same  in- 
dividual cares  for  the  patient  and  also  looks  after  the  general  house- 
work, no  one  except  the  physician  will  be  allowed  to  enter  or  leave 
any  of  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  family.  In  all  such  cases  the  chil- 
dren in  the  family  must  be  kept  on  their  own  premises  and  away 
from  the  street  line.  No  disinfection  may  be  performed  after  a  sick- 
ness of  less  than  four  weeks. 

Rules  similar  to  the  foregoing  are  laid  down   for  diptheria. 

In  regard  to  measles,  cases  must  be  reported  to  Board  of  Health 

—  50  — 


by  the  attending  physician  or  by  the  head  of  the  family  within  12 
hours.  The  patient  must  be  kept  within  the  house,  and  no  child  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  house,  until  all  symptoms  of  the  disease  have 
disappeared.  In  no  case  shall  this  period  be  less  than  15  days.  Chil- 
dren in  a  family  in  which  a  case  of  measles  develops  will  be  excluded 
from  school  for  15  days,  unless  they  can  furnish  a  physician's  certifi- 
cate to  the  effect  that  they  have  had  measles.  A  similar  provision 
pertains   with   regard  to   teachers. 

In  cases  of  Whooping  Cough  the  head  of  the  family  where  the 
disease  exists  must  not  let  other  children  enter  the  house,  or  yard, 
if  the  patient  is  out  of  doors.  Also,  all  children  who  have  a  suspi- 
cious cough  must  be  excluded  from  school  until  readmitted  by  the 
medical  inspector.  Children  with  this  disease  must  remain  on  their 
own  premises  and  away  from  the  street  line. 

In  cases  of  tuberculosis  representative  of  the  Board  of  Health 
makes  visit  to  see  that  proper  precautions  are  being  taken.  If  there 
is  any  reason  for  believing  that  patient  is  careless  in  disposing  of 
sputum,  he  is  sent  to  County  Hospital  in  accordance  with  state  law. 
No  patient  is  allowed  to  read  books  that  are  obtained  at  Public  Li- 
brary, nor  is  such  a  one  allowed  the  use  of  the  reference  or  reading 
room  of  the  library.  Every  room  or  apartment  that  is  vacated  by 
a  tuberculosis  person  must  be  disinfected  at  once  in  accordance  with 
State  law.  Free  clinical  examination  is  given  to  tuberculosis  sus- 
pects at  hospital  within  the  city. 

In  cases  of  Typhoid  Fever  all  patients  must  be  removed  to  hos- 
pital, unless  it  can  be  shov/n  to  the  Board  of  Health  that  there  are 
facilities  for  care  of  the  patient  in  .the  home  without  danger  to  others. 
In  accordance  with  the  ordinance  of  the  Board  of  Health  requiring 
compulsory  examination  of  food  handlers  288  blood  specimens  were 
examined  in  1915  for  the  detection  of  possible  typhoid  "carriers." 

In  regard  to  Venereal  Diseases  Montclair  required  the  reporting 
of  these  even  before  they  were  made  reportable  by  State  law  1917.  The 
Board  of  Health  since  1913  has  made  the  Wassermann  test  for  syphi- 
lis without  charge,  and  also  makes  free  bacteriological  analysis  for 
detection  of  gonorrhoeal  infections.  The  Board  furnishes  free  treat- 
ment of  indigent  persons  for  these  diseases. 

The  following  serum  and  vaccine  treatments  are  offered  free 
by  the  Board  of  Health: 

Antitoxin   in   indigent   cases   of  diptheria. 
Vaccination  of  indgent  persons. 
Pasteur  treatment  for  indigent  persons. 
Treatment   of  indigent  venereal   cases. 
Typhoid   Fever  immunization   in   all  cases. 
Other  treatment  if  occasion  arises. 

The  foregoing  presentation  of  some  of  the  unusually  rigorous 
measures  of  the  Montclair  officials  represents  advanced  standards  of 
public  health  measures  in  American  communities.  Based  upon  the 
sum  appropriated  by  the  Town  Council,  in  1915  this  service  was 
rendered  at  a  cost  of  45c  per  capita.  On  a  similar  basis  the  Prince- 
ton per  capita  cost  of  health  service  in  1915  was  29c.  But  the  fact 
that  Princeton  University  contributes  to  the  health  budget  in  Prince- 
ton makes  the  financial  situation  of  that  town  somewhat  peculiar, 
and  it  is  discussed  in  what  is  to  follow. 

—  51  — 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Financial  Aspects    and  Further  Needs. 

TABLE  XXI 

Statement  of  total  Revenues  and  of  Sources  thereof,  also  of  Per  Capita  Appropriations,  based  upon  Borough 

Population,  and   Borough  and   University   Non-Resident  Population  for  1915,   Princeton   Board 

of  Health,  for  a  Series  of  Years.     Material  taken  from  Annual  Reports  of  the  Borough  of 

Princeton. 


Source 

s  of  Rove 

lUC 

1 

Per  Capita  Appr 

Year 

Bal. 
Jan.  1.  on 
Hand. 
S 

Boro. 
-Appr. 

Univ. 

Appr. 

S 

Semi- 
nary. 
.\ppr. 
$ 

Other 
Sources. 
Licenses, 

Etc. 

$ 

Total 
Revenue. 

$ 

Boro. 
Pop. 

Boro. 

Univ. 
Pop.1915 
Including 
Seminary 

Boro. 
Pop. 

Boro. 
Plus 
Univ. 
Sem. 
Non-Res. 

tl917 

2200 
2000 
1700 
1350 

5894*** 
5786*** 
5678 

..0.37 

tl916 

4.36.53 

311.60 

396 . 49 

254.37 

159.89 
83.86 
86.82 

174.16 

170. 32** 

0.34 
0.27 

1915 
1914 

750.00 
750.00 

489.39 
470.50 

3250.99 
2966.99 

7587. . 

32. 

tl913 

1912 

618 
200 
275 
100 
200 

937.50 
150.00 

""266 

316.35 
148.77 
314.00 
169.60 
160.85 

2031.74 
882.63 
675.82 
443.76 
630.17 

1911 

1910 

5136 

0.05 

1908 

1905* 

6029 

0.63 

*  Period  April  17  to  December  31,  1905         tData  for  1913,  1916  and  1917  are  incomplete. 
**0n  Hand  April  1.  1905.  ***Estimated. 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  table  there  are  the  following 
points  to  be  noted: 

1  There  is  a  notable  improvement  in  the  amounts  of  money 
appropriated  by  the  Borough  Council  for  health  purposes  from  1905 
to  1917,  being  $200  in  1905  and  $2200  in   1917. 

2  The  per  capita  appropriation,  based  upon  the  Borough  popu- 
lation, and  the  amount  appropriated  by  the  Borough  Council  has  in- 
creased from  3  cents  in  1905  to  37  cents  in  1917. 

3  Since  1911  Princeton  University  has  made  appropriations  for 
the  health  work  of  the  Borough,  although  data  for  3  of  the  years 
since  then  on  this  point  is  not  given  in  financial  reports  of  the  Bor- 
ough. 

4  In  1911  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  made  a  contribu- 
tion of  $200. 

.5  In  1915  the  per  capita  appropriation,  based  on  the  University 
and  .Seminary  population,  and  including  the  amount  appropriated  by 
the   University,  was   32  cents. 

6  The  first  column  of  the  table  indicating  the  amount  of  sur- 
plus left  over  from  the  revenues  of  each  year  seems  to  show  an 
undesirable  tendency  towards  a  husbanding  of  the  funds  of  the 
Board,  instead  of  spending  them  up  to  the  limit  in  health  protection. 
For  example,  though  in  1911,  the  Borough  appropriated  $200,  and 
the  total  revenues  $882.63,  on  January  1,  1912  there  was  an  unex- 
pended balance  of  $159.89,  nearly  80  percent  of  the  amount  the 
Borough  had  appropriated;  and  in  the  year  1910  Princeton  had  a 
death  rate  from  tuberculosis  of  3.11  per  thousand  or  one  of  the  high- 
est ever  recorded  in  the  state.  That  the  following  year  the  Board 
°i!  ^^^'th  saved  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  amount  appropriated  by 
the  authorities,  uistead  of  spending  it  upon  preventive  work  in  tuber- 


—  52  — 


culosis  indicates  an  ignorance  of  real  conditions,  or  a  penuriousness 
that  are  incompatible  with  high  standards  in  health  work.  A  glance 
at  the  1st  column  in  the  table  shows  that  this  extremely  conservative 
tendency  is  manifest  throughout  recent  years. 

The  following  shows  the  percent  of  total  revenues  of  the 
Board  of  Health  that  have  been  annually  unexpended  in  recent  years: 
1910,   12%;   1911,  18%;   1912,   12%;   1914,   10%;  1915,   13%. 

In  contrast  to  this  is  the  bold  policy  manifest  from  the  financial 
reports  of  the  Montclair.  From  1913  to  1915,  inclusive,  with  total 
revenues  of  over  $10,000,  the  Board  of  Health  of  this  town  saved 
out  of  its  revenues,  1.4  percent  in  1913;  $4.42  in  1914;  and  4  percent 
in  1915.  Well  may  its  Health  Officer  speak  with  satisfaction  of  the 
work  of  the  Montclair  Board  of  Health  in  the  report  for  1915  in  the 
following  terms: 

"Health  conditions  throughout  the  year  were  most  satisfactory, 
as  far  as  may  be  judged  by  a  study  of  the  discussions  under  the  dif- 
ferent main  subdivisions  of  the  report.  The  death  rate  was  the 
lov/est,  with  one  exceptipn,  during  the  last  30  years;  the  infant 
mortality  rate  was  within  one  point  of  the  lowest  ever  recorded  for 
the  town,  and  the  deaths  of  children  under  5  years  of  age  showed  a 
decrease  of  24  per  cent  over  the  previous  year.  Only  36.4  percent 
of  the  deaths  were  of  persons  under  45  years  of  age;  there  were 
comparatively  few  cases  of  communicable  diseases  reported,  and 
there  were  no  deaths  from  diptheria,  scarlet  fever,  or  measles."  (21st 
report  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  Montclair,  1915,  p.  15.) 

A  Scientific  Distribution  of  the  Health  Budget 

Modern  health  authorities  are  directing  a  good  deal  of  atten- 
tion to  the  scientific  study  of  health  budgets,  aiming  at  a  more  effec- 
tive division  of  the  funds  available.  Thus,  Mr.  Franz  Schneider  of 
the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  makes  the  following  analysis  of  rela- 
tive importance  of  different  branches  of  health  work,  indicating  that 
the  distribution  of  efforts  and  funds  should  be  in  accordance  with 
this  analysis.   (See  National  Municipal  Review,  May,  1917.) 

Control  of  communicable  diseases: 

i 

Tuberculosis     12jl| 

Venereal  diseases    6.6 

All   others    25.3 

Infant   Hygiene    . . . : 20.3 

Privy  and  Well   Sanitation 3.5 

Milk   Control    2.7 

Fly  and  Mosquito  Suppression 2.4 

Food    Sanitation    1 

Inspection  of  School  Children 7. 

Vital    Statistics    5. 

Education     5, 

Dispensary   and   Clinics    5. 

Laboratory    5, 

IQO.% 

—  53  — 


It  will  be  seen  that  according -to  the  above  criteria  44  percent  of 
the  effort  and  funds  of  health  authorities  should  go  towards  the  con- 
trol of  communicable  diseases;  and  over  20  percent  towards  infant 
hygiene.  In  Princeton  virtually  none  of  the  public  health  funds  are 
devoted  to  this  latter  purpose,  although  in  I'JIG  the  community  suf- 
fered a  very  high  infant  mortality  rate.  Bacteriological  analyses 
are  made  in  Princeton  for  detection  of  tuberculosis  and  the  venereal 
diseases,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  health  authorities  do  not  expend 
over  18  percent  of  their  efifort  (as  above)  for  suppression  of  these 
diseases.  Very  little  is  done  in  Princeton  by  the  Board  of  Health  for 
education;  and  nothing  at  all  in  clinical  and  dispensary  work,  though 
the  relative  importance  of  these  objects  are  estimated  at  10  percent 
in  Schneider's  table.  Medical  Inspection  of  school  children  is 
awarded  an  importance  of  7  percent  in  the  above  analysis.  In 
Princeton  as  in  many  other  communities  the  funds  for  this  work 
come  from  appropriations  for  school  purposes. 

An  Expense  Account  for  1915 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Expenses  of  the  Princeton  Board 
of  Health,  from  January  1,  1915,  to  January  1,  1916,  as  taken  from 
the  pamphlet  of  Annual  Reports  of  the  Borough  of  Princeton  for 
1915: 

Salaries     $1945.17 

Laboratory     251.94 

Mosquito   Campaign    100.23 

Community   Cleansing   Committee    57. 

Attorney     49.61 

Registrar   of    Vital    Statistics    19.20 

Incidentals     391.31 

Bank    Balance     436.53 


Total     $3250.99 

The  above  statement  is  an  improvement  upon  former  reports, 
which  simply  set  down  the  names  of  persons  to  whom  money  had 
been  paid  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Health;  but  it  still  leaves 
much  to  be  desired  both  from  the  point  of  view  of  accounting  and 
of  the  community  health.  In  the  first  place,  the  salary  total  includes 
that  of  Health  Officer  and  of  Inspector,  and  is  obviously  inadequate 
for  securing  the  services  of  competent  persons,  except  as  they  may 
regard  the  Princeton  work  as  a  kind  of  training  school  for  better 
paying  jobs.  In  the  second  place,  so  far  as  vital  relation  to  health 
is  concerned,  the  amount  spent  for  community  cleansing  would  not 
seem  to  be  a  proper  outlay  for  the  Board  of  Health,  but  might  better 
be  borne  by  the  Street  Cleaning  Department  of  the  Borough.  This 
amount  might  well  have  gone  to  make  up  the  very  grave  deficiency 
in  infant  hygiene.  Thirdly,  it  will  be  noted  that  $391.31  is  put 
down  as  money  spent  for  "Incidentals."  Excluding  salaries,  this 
amount  is  considerably  over  one  half  the  money  actually  spent  by 
the  Board  during  the  year.  Such  extraordinary  accounting  could  only 
survive  in  a  small  town  where  efficiency  in  public  work  was,  to  say 
the  least,  dormant.     The  large  unexpended  bank  balance  has  already 

—  54  — 


been  commented  upon  in  a  previous  part  of  this  report.  In  conclusion, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  whole  statement  gives  no  adequate  clue  as  to 
what  is  being  done  with  the  funds. 

School  Inspection 


The  Borough  Board  of  Education  spent  upon  medical  inspection 
in  the  schools  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1916,  $1493,  of  which 
$1450  went  for  salaries  of  school  nurse  and  of  medical  inspector. 
The  work  of  school  medical  inspection  in  Princeton  has  been  com- 
mended by  State  authorities.  The  gravest  need  is  for  its  extension 
to  the  private  and  parochial  schools  of  the  Borough.  It  has  been 
before  stated  that  an  epidemic  of  measles  in  1916,  which  was  sup- 
posed to  have  arisen  in  the  parochial  school  finally  affected  383  per- 
sons, and  involved  the  partial  closing  of  the  schools.  The  Medical 
Inspector  states  in  the  report  for  the  above  year  that,  excepting 
measles  and  influenza,  the  amount  of  communicable  disease  had  been 
"normal."  It  might  be  of  interest  to  know  what  are  his  standards 
of  "normality"  in  this  matter. 

Hospital  and  Dispensary  Needs 

So  far  as  equipment  is  concerned  two  of  the  most  urgent  needs 
for  better  health  work  in  the  Borough  are  a  hospital  and  a  dispen- 
sary. Attempt  was  made  in  this  study  to  get  from  the  Trenton  Hos- 
pital statistics  of  their  Princeton  cases,  but  without  success.  It  is  a 
well  known  fact  that  much  needless  suffering  occurs  in  the  Bor- 
ough, either  because  patients  are  not  sent  to  hospitals  when  they 
should  be,  or  because  when  they  do  go,  they  have  to  be  taken  to 
Trenton,  11  miles  away.  There  has  been  considerable  agitation  for 
a  hospital  in  recent  years;  but  as  yet  (1917)  one  has  not  been  pro- 
vided. Moreover,  it  goes  without  saying  that  with  a  comparatively 
large  working  population  there  should  be  provided  a  dispensary  for 
incipient  and  minor  ailments.  The  excellent  work  of  Princeton  for 
the  Red  Cross  in  the  war  should,  following  the  war,  be  directed 
towards  supplying  the   community  with  very  much   needed  facilities. 

The  following  statement  from  the  "Princeton  Packet"  for  March, 
2,  1917  is  an  expression  of  one  aspect  of  public  opinion  on  the 
question  of  the  hospital. 

"Since  the  publication  in  the  'Packet'  of  the  need  of  a  hospital 
in  Princeton,  and  the  suggestion  that  the  Princeton  Inn  would  make 
an  ideal  location,  a  deal  of  iterest  has  been  manifested  in  the  project, 
and  a  number  of  suggestions  have  been  made  to  the  editor,  and  the 
one  that  seems  most  feasible  as  to  location  and  desirability  as  a  hos- 
pital is  Thomson  Hall.  As  is  known  Thomson  Hall  is  the  property 
of  the  Borough  of  Princeton,  having  been  deeded  in  the  will  of  the 
late  Mrs.  Josephine  Swann,  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  Princeton. 
This  building  has  a  number  of  large  rooms  which  would  be  ideal  as 
hospital  wards.  All  conveniences  necessary  for  a  hospital  could  be 
easily  installed.  The  location  could  not  be  improved  upon  for  such 
an  institution.  Surrounded  by  large  and  beautiful  lawns,  and  since 
the  only  noise  in  that  location  would  be  the  bells  of  the  University 
and  Seminary,  it  would  afford  a  quiet  and  central  location. 

—  55  — 


"There  Is  an  endowment  fund  of  $30,000  for  its  maintenance, 
which  nets  about  $1500  per  vear.  This  with  other  municipal  re- 
sources and  buildings  under  the  supervision  of  the  Village  Improve- 
ment Society,  would  be  almost  ample  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
maintenance.  " 


—  56 


PART  III. 


Dependency — Public   and  Private  Charity. 

Chapter  I. 
Public  Poor  Relief  in  Princeton. 

The  following  table  will  give  at  a  glance  the  appropriations  and  dis- 
bursements from  Borough  funds  for  poor  relief  during  a  period  of  9  years 
(not  completely  consecutive)   from  1906  to  1917: 


TABLE  XXII 
Resources  and  Disbursements,  Public  Poor  Relief 
Princeton,  1906-1917 


Receipt 

s    and    Appropriations 

Disbursements 

Year    Appro- 
pria- 
tions 

$ 

Salaries 

Transferred 

from  others 

Accounts 

$ 

Other   Sources   of   Revenue 
for  Poor  Relief 

General    Relief 

Sal.  of 
Over- 
seer   of 
Poor 

Sal.  of 
Boro. 
Phys. 

S 

Unex- 
pend- 
ed. 
$ 

1906— •  1000 

778.06  (bal.) 
8.00  (fines) 
445.36  (Princeton   Twp.) 

327.68 

528.41 
775.09 
1042.17 
1230.14 
Inc.  128  for  med- 
ical service 
1512.65 
1625.28 
1330.57 
1758.21 

96.57 

105.36 
100.00 
100.00 
99.90 

100.00 
100.00 

166.66 

125.00 
125.00 
125.00 

125.00 
125.00 
125.00 
125.00 

1807.17 

1908 —  1000 

241.23 

1910 —     750 

125.00 
125.00 

225.00 
225.00 
125.00 
225.00 

250.00 
200.00 
300.00 

12.65 
125.28 

134.90 

1911—  1000 

56.83 

1912—  1200 

169.90 

1914 —  1500 

1915 —  1500 

1916 —  1500 

169.43 

1917 —  1800 

41.79 

Relation  of  Poor  Relief  to  Growth  of  Population 

The  above  data  are  taken  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  Borough 
for  the  years  in  question.  It  is  shown  by  the  table  that  the  question  of 
poor  relief,  financially,  at  least,  is  assuming  increasing  importance  for  the 
Borough.  The  total  expenditure  including  salaries  of  Overseer  and  Phy- 
sician have  increased  from  $424.25  in  1906  to  $1,983.21  in  1917.  This  is 
nearly  a  fivefold  increase.  The  State  Census  gives  the  population  of  the 
Borough  as  6,029  in  1905,  and  as  5,678  in  1915.  There  is  probably  error 
in  the  figures  of  the  State  Census  for  1905,  for  the  Federal  Census  figures 
for  1900  give  Princeton  a  population  of  3,899,  and  the  Federal  estimate 
for  1910  is  5,136.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  figures  for  the  intervening 
period  should  be  6,029,  the  estimate  of  the  State  Census,  unless  it  had  a 
different  basis  from  that  of  the  Federal  Census.  According  to  the  Federal 
figures  for  1900  and  1910,  and  based  on  the  estimated  yearly  increase,  the 
population  of  the  Borough  in  1905  should  have  been  4,517.  The  State 
Census  figures  for  1915,  namely  5,678,  is  more  in  accordance  with  the 
Federal  estimate  for  1910,  which  was  5,136.  It  is  reasonsable  to  assume 
the  correctness  of  State  figures  for  1915.    The  increase  in  population  from 


57  — 


1905  to  1915  was,  then,  from  4,517  to  5,G78,  or  an  increase  of  about  25% ; 
whereas  the  increase  in  expenditures  from  the  Borough  treasury  for  care 
of  the  poor  during  the  same  period  was  about  'M)7%.  Obviously,  the  fin- 
ancial significance  of  the  problem  has  increased  much  more  than  the  popu- 
lation itself  has.  This  may  mean  either  that  the  dependency  in  the  Bor- 
ough has  increased  both  absolutely  and  relatively  to  the  growth  of  the 
population,  or  that  without  much  increase  relatively  to  the  population, 
a  great  deal  more  is  done  to  relieve  distress  in  these  later  years  than  was 
done  even  10  years  ago.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  latter  explanation 
contains  the  predominant  degree  of  truth,  and,  if  this  is  so,  it  means  that 
the  Borough  officials  are  more  alert  in  relieving  distress  than  was  the 
case  formerly. 

The  Work  of  the  Overseer  of  the  Poor. 

Still,  admitting  this  greater  activity  of  Borough  officials  in  recent 
years,  there  is  much  to  be  desired  in  the  situation.  In  the  first  place,  the 
custom  of  paying  Overseer  of  the  Poor  and  Borough  Physician  only 
$100  and  $125,  respectively,  indicates  a  sheer  disregard  for  or  ignorance 
of  the  importance  of  the  problems  with  which  these  officials  must  deal, 
and  of  the  value  of  the  services  which  they  might  render,  if  the  work 
were  properly  done.  Concerning  this  point  there  is  the  following 
statement  in  the  191."}  report  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Charities  Aid 
and   Prison   Reform  Association: 

"The  compensation  for  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  is  entirely  a  matter 
of  tradition  or  circumstance  in  the  communities  and  there  is  no  classifica- 
tion in  this  respect.  It  is  absurd  to  expect  any  kind  of  service  for  a  sal- 
ary of  $10  per  annum,  as  is  found  in  New  Jersey  in  a  number  of  places, 
or  in  others  an  annual  compensation  of  $25,  in  others  $50,  in  others  $100, 
and  so  on.  An  overseer  of  the  poor  with  experience  can  be  most  helpful 
to  his  community  both  to  the  people  he  serves,  and  to  the  official  muni- 
cipality, but  he  will  not  bother  with  the  duties  of  his  office  for  the  paltry 
compensation  offered  him.  The  best  overseers  are  those  who  give  a  great 
deal  of  time  to  their  duties.  They  investigate  families  needing  assistance, 
they  look  after  them  while  being  assisted,  and  endeavor  to  put  the  families 
in  a  position  where  they  no  longer  need  municipal  aid.  Intelligent  service 
requires  the  expenditure  of  a  great  deal  of  time  and  energy  and  the  wis- 
dom that  comes  from  experience.  Simply  giving  out  orders  for  groceries 
makes  for  pauperism."  (Report  of  New  Jersey  State  Charities  Aid  and 
Prison  Reform  Association,  1913,  p.  35). 

If  the  above  statement  applies  to  the  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  how 
much  more  would  the  principles  here  enumerated  apply  to  the  Borough 
Physician  whom  Princeton  has  been  remunerating  to  the  extent  of 
$125  per  annum.  It  is  certain  that  this  sum  will  not  bring  that  aid 
and  assistance  to  the  indigent  sick  that  they  should  receive. 

With  regard  to  the  Overseer  of  the  Poor  it  should  be  stated  that  in 
recent  years  it  has  been  the  custom  in  Princeton  to  appoint  to  this  office 
the  worker  of  one  of  the  private  social  agencies  in  the  Borough,  so  that 
the  dispensing  of  relief  has  been  done  with  more  care  than  would  have 
been  the  case  if  only  a  Borough  official,  with  no  private  support,  had  per- 
formed the  task.  But  it  may  be  a  question  as  to  whether  the  Borough 
ought  to  relieve  itself  of  its  responsibilities  with  so  paltry  an  outlay. 

Due  to  this  arrangement  between  public  and  private  authorities  a 
system  of  records  of  aid  and  assistance  granted  has  been  kept  since  1914, 
but  before  that  time  apparently  no  records  were  kept  of  money  spent  each 

—  58  — 


year  for  relief,  and  at  the  present  time  no  available  records  are  kept  of 
the  work  done  by  the  Borough  physician.  An  analysis  of  the  records  of 
the  private  case  work  agency  is  submitted  later  in  this  report. 

TABLE   XXIII 

Amounts  and  Purposes  of  Disbursements  from  Borough  Funds  for  Poor  Relief, 

not  including  Salaries  of  Physician  and  Overseer,  for  eight  years,  between 

1908  and   1917 


Purpose 

1917 

1916 

1915 

1914 

1912 

1911 

1910 

1908 

1906  (1) 

Groceries 

Board  &  Nursing 
Fuel 

$ 
930.35 

292.57 
49.21 
97.25 

$ 
868.23 

245.39 
49.20 
40.00 
10.00 

117.75 

$ 
1107.13 

389.00 
14.15 

100.00 
15.00 

$ 
877.60 

407.40 
65.65 
90.00 
52.00 

$ 
547.58 

368.43 

57.60 

117.50 

$ 

753.00 

(4) 

141.12 

64.15 

68.00 

$ 
580.12 

65.00 

$ 

271.76 

(3) 

118.20 

47.20 

70.00 

6.00 

.  .  (2) .  . 

$ 

Funerals 

Rent 

317.25 

Clothing 

16.50 

8.50 

1.50 

Milk      Ice 

15.15 

14.75 
41.68 

N.J.    State    Bd. 
Cliildren's  Guar- 

11.03 

128.00 
1230.14 

22.77 

Medical  Services 
&  Drugs 

20.00 
1512.65 

13.75 
528.41 

Totals 

i758.2i 

1330.57 

i625.28 

1042.77 

775.09 

327.68 

©In  1906  the  statement  of  poor  rehef  in  Annual  Borough  Report  does  not  indicate  for  what 
purpose  the  money  was  expended,  only  names  of  persons  to  whom  payments  were  made. 

®Cab  hire 

©Board  only. 

©Board  and  Transportation. 

What  the  Money  Went  For. 

An  examination  of  the  financial  reports  of  the  Borough  reveals  that 
disbursements  for  relief  have  been  made  under  the  following  heads : 
Groceries,  Board  and  Nursing,  Fuel,  Funerals  and  Ambulance  services, 
Rent  and  Clothing,  Milk  and  Ice,  New  Jersey  State  Board  of  Children's 
Guardians,  Sundries.  The  foregoing  are  included  in  the  itemized  state- 
ment for  1917.  The  total  expenditure  for  that  year  for  relief,  exclusive 
of  salaries  was  $1,758.21.  This  expenditure  was  distributed  as  follows: 
Groceries,  $930.35;  Board  and  Nursing,  $292.57;  Fuel,  $49.21;  Funerals  and 
Ambulance,  $97.25;  Rent  and  Clothing,  $317.25;  Milk  and  Ice,  $15.15;  N. 
J.   State   Board  Children's   Guardians,  $14.75;   Sundries,  $41.68. 

It  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  table  that  as  a  general  rule  consid- 
erably more  than  half  of  the  expenditure  each  year  goes  for  groceries. 
It  is  certain  that  before  the  time  when  the  social  worker  of  the  private 
charity  agency  in  the  Borough  was  made  Overseer  of  the  Poor  there  was 
pauperization  of  the  needy  in  the  community  through  these  doles  of 
groceries.  ..       J.  li 

In  1900,  the  first  year  of  the  table  the  total  expenditure  of  the  Borough 
for  all  purposes  was  $87,319.21,  of  which  sum  .37%  was  spent  for  material 
relief,  not  including  salaries;  in  1917  the  total  expenditure  of  the  Borough 
was  $185,391.86,  of  which  .71%  was  spent  for  material  relief.  In  other 
words,  the  proportion  of  public  money  spent  for  poor  relief  has  doubled 
during  this  period.  In  the  meantime  the  actual  amount  of  money  spent 
for  the  purpose  has  increased  fivefold.  If  this  increase  is  to  continue,  it 
would  seem  to  be  imperative  that  the  very  highest  standards  should  be 
employed  in  the  work,  so  that  families  shall  be  assisted  to  self-mainten- 
ance, rather  than  encouraged  in  seeking  relief  from  public  funds.     The 


—  59  — 


writer  knows  of  at  least  one  case  of  gross  mal-administration.  It  was 
that  of  a  colored  woman,  who  lived  with  a  white  man  not  her  husband, 
and  who  had  received  frequent  doles  from  public  authorities.  If  records 
had  been  kept  throughout  all  these  years,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  pos- 
sible to  trace  down  more  of  this  sort  of  thing.  Happily,  perhaps,  the 
administrative  officials  who  do  this  sort  of  work  keep  no  records.  A 
former  overseer  told  the  writer  that  he  simply  gave  out  the  funds  to 
those  who  asked  until  the  money  was  gone. 

The  Need  for  Central  Supervision. 

Insight  into  the  general  need  for  greater  supervision  of  public  out- 
door relief  in  New  Jersey  is  gained  through  the  following  statement 
contained  in  the  1913  report  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Charities  Aid  and 
Prison  Reform  Association,  page  37: 

"Here  and  there  throughout  the  state  some  very  practical,  intelligent 
and  praiseworthy  work  is  being  done  by  overseers  of  the  poor.  Progres- 
sive thinking  is  catching  and  a  general  improved  tone  is  noticeable.  How- 
ever, there  remain  a  few  overseers  of  the  poor  who  are  content  to  follow 
in  the  lines  of  antiquated  customs  and  traditions. 

"The  language  of  the  law  fixing  the  terms  of  settlement  for  purposes 
of  poor  relief  is  indefinite  and  unsatisfactory.  In  the  early  years  a  fixed 
residence  of  ten  years  was  required  before  the  applicant  for  relief  could 
be  granted  relief.  It  is  now  fixed  at  five  years.  It  should  be  fixed  at 
one  year  for  temporary  aid  and  three  years  for  permanent  care. 

"An  effort  was  made  in  this  office  to  secure  some  statistical  material 
from  overseers  of  the  poor,  but  not  with  any  great  or  satisfying  result. 
There  is  a  law  requiring  municipal  clerks  to  file  with  the  State  Commis- 
sioners of  Charities  and  Corrections  the  names  and  post  office  addresses 
of  overseers  of  the  poor.  It  might  be  well  to  require  the  filing  with  the 
Commissioners  of  an  annual  report  upon  blanks  to  be  furnished  by  the 
Commissioner.  This  would  give  uniformity  of  the  reporting  and  some 
statistical  data  which  would  indicate  the  amount  of  service  given  officially 
to  dependents  applying  for  temporary  or  permanent  relief.  The  problem 
of  aged  and  infirm  dependents  in  New  Jersey  is  a  serious  one  and  cannot 
be  adequately  reached  with  our  present  lack  of  system  of  almshouse 
care." 

Statistical  data  from  Records  of  Overseer  of  Poor,  Nov.,  1914- 
May,    1916. 

The  following  is  an  analysis  of  records  kept  by  the  Social  Worker 
of  the  Town  Club,  who  was  also  Overseer  of  the  Poor  from  the  fall  of 
1914  to  the  spring  of  1916.  All  but  one  of  these  records  have  as  their 
first  date  sometime  between  November,  1914  and  May,  1916,  and  there  is 
no  date  on  the  records  later  than  May,  1916.  Altogether  the  records  are 
of   179  cases. 

Racial  Composition  of  Cases. 

62  colored,   11   Italian,   18   Irish,   3   Scotch,   2  English,   4  German,   1 
French,  1   Tew.  2  nationality  unknown,  75  White  American. 
Total,  179  cases. 

—  60  — 


Residents  and  Non-Residents. 

35  were  non-resident,  mostly  adult  men  seeking  work.  The  remain- 
der were  residents  of  the  Borough  or  Township.  There  were  no  col- 
ored men  among  these  non-resident  itinerant  workers. 

Maritzd  Condition  of  Applicants. 

103  cases  were  of  married  men  or  women ;  5  were  widowed ;  the  re- 
mainder were  single  men  or  women,  or  children,  or  the  marital  con- 
dition was  unknown. 

Kind  of  Aid  Asked  for  or  Given. 

The  different  kinds  of  aid  are  classified  for  purposes  of  this  analysis 
under  the  following  heads :  Qothing,  Food,  Fuel,  Rent,  Medical  Aid, 
Pensions,  Work. 

Frequency  with  which  different  kinds  of  aid  were   sought  for  and 
usually  given,  or  attempt  was  made  to  meet  the  need. 

Clothing,  54  times;  Food,  49;  Fuel,  33;  Rent,  10;  Medical  Aid, 
31;  Pension,  5;  Work,  78. 

From  the  foregoing  it  would  seem  that  unemployment  was  a  lead- 
ing cause  of  dependency  in  the  Borough. 

Other  Factors  Involved,  and  Their  Frequency. 

Tuberculosis,  suspected  or  existence  proved,  appeared  in  60  cases; 
alcoholism,  25  times;  insanity,  5  times;  feeble  mindedness,  16  times. 
The  frequency  of  the  appearance  of  tuberculosis  on  these  case  records 
confirms,  and  gives  another  angle  to,  the  statements  regarding  tuber- 
culosis made  in  the  sections  of  this  survey  dealing  with  Housing 
and  Health.  In  addition  to  foregoing  one  finds  in  the  records  evi- 
dence of  juvenile  delinquency,  epilepsy,  non-support  and  desertion, 
illegitimacy,  and  the  need  for  legal  aid,  and  for  institutional  care. 

Summary  of  Situation  as  Evidenced  in  the  Case  Records. 

It  need  hardly  be  stated  that  the  foregoing  analysis  of  material  found 
on  the  records  does  not  presume  to  be  a  detailed  statement  of  the  nature 
of  the  dependency  problem  in  Princeton.  The  incompleteness  of  the 
records  does  not  permit  of  minute  analysis.  What  is  here  presented  is 
the  barest  outlines  of  the  problem.  It  should  not  be  presumed,  either, 
that  these  179  cases  involved  the  total  activity  of  the  Overseer  of  the 
Poor  for  approximately  the  year  and  a  half  between  November,  1914 
and  May,  1916.  But  insofar  as  the  data  on  the  records  is  a  guide,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  charity  problem  of  the  Borough  includes  about  as  many 
types  of  problems  as  one  finds  in  records  of  an  agency  in  one  of  our  large 
cities.  This  being  so,  the  community  should  require  the  highest  possible 
grade  of  service  on  the  part  of  the  Overseer.  The  penalty  for  not  re- 
quiring this  is  the  progressive  pauperization  of  large  numbers  of  the 
community,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  unrelieved  distress.  Certainly,  the 
salary  of  the  Overseer  contributed  by  the  Borough,  which  is  $100  per  an- 
num, is  not  sufficient  to  guarantee  this  kind  of  efficient  service.  In  1917 
the  total  salary  of  the  Social  Worker  doing  this  service,  from  public  and 
private  sources  was  only  $60  per  month.  This  amount  will  barely  meet 
the  cost  of  living  for  the  social  worker.  It  certainly  is  not  sufficient  to 
stimulate  enthusiasm  for  the  work. 

It  appears  from  the  records  that  the  colored  people  supply  a  larger 
share  of   the  cases  of   need  than  is  their  proportion  in  the  population. 

—  61  — 


They  constitute  about  20%  of  the  population,  and  about  36%  of  the  fam- 
ilies on  the  above  records.  One  may  say  that  the  charity  records  confirm 
the  impHcations  of  the  study  of  housing  and  health  conditions,  that  the 
general  economic  and  living  conditions  of  the  colored  people  are  such 
as  to  demand  wise  endeavors  for  their  improvement  on  the  part  of  the 
community.  Among  other  groups  besides  native  whites  the  Italians  ap- 
pear on  the  records  with  some  frequency,  constituting  about  dVo  of  the 
cases  on  the  records,  while  they  comprise  about  5%  of  the  population. 
However,  it  should  be  said  that  their  frequency  in  the  records  is  no  accu- 
rate indication  of  the  extent  of  relief  work  done  among  Italians,  inas- 
much as  other  agencies,  for  example,  the  Dorethea  Settlement  House 
for  Italians,  upon  occasions  conducts  relief  work  for  the  Italians.  Of 
course,  it  can  be  said,  also,  that  the  records  are  not  a  complete  indica- 
tion of  relief  work  done  among  negroes,  either,  if  one  includes  the  work 
of  philanthropic  individuals  and  private  charities.  Discussion  of  such 
individual  and  private  philanthropy  is   submitted   further  in   this  report. 

Many  men  in  search  of  work  inquire  for  jobs  or  other  assistance 
at  the  office  of  the  Overseer  of  the  Poor.  35  are  registered  in  the  records 
during  the  period  covered  by  them.  18  of  these  were  white  Americans ; 
the  remainder  were  foreigners  or  were  of  foreign  extraction,  of  whom 
11  were  Irish.  In  the  absence  of  any  closely  related  labor  exchanges  in 
New  Jersey  when  this  study  was  made,  there  is  little  that  the  Overseer 
can  do  for  these  men.  They  are  often  given  night  lodgings  in  the  town 
jail,  and  work  in  the  street  department  in  the  city.  Comment  upon  the 
efficiency  of  these  men  was  made  in  favorable  terms  by  the  Mayor  in  a 
report  to  the  Borough  Council.  But  the  practice  of  herding  them  in  the 
abominable  jail  of  the  Borough  should  be  discontinued.  The  problem 
of  these  itinerant  workers  in  times  of  unemployment  is  too  large  for 
solution  by  exclusive  action  on  the  part  ,of  the  Borough,  and  demands 
state  and  national  programs  on  unemployment  Meanwhile,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  writer,  a  step  in  the  right  direction  would  be  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Borough  Public  Employment  Bureau,  which  in  time  could  be 
closely  coordinated  with  similar  bureaus  in  other  cities,  and  with  state 
and  national  bureaus.  Having  to  appear  before  a  charity  agency  for  in- 
formation about  work,  and  being  thrust  into  the  Borough  jail  for  lodg- 
ings are  not  practices  conducive  to  the  self  respert  of  unemployed  men. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  of  these  records  that  they  leave  rnuch  to 
be  desired  in  the  way  of  completeness  for  purpose  of  diagnosis  of  the 
charity  problems  of  the  community,  and  of  revealing  organized  eflfort  by 
the  various  agencies  in  the  community  for  treatment  of  these  problems. 
With  regard  to  this  latter  aspect  it  should  be  said  that  the  fault  lies  not 
so  much  with  the  social  worker  of  the  Town  Club,  who,  as  Overseer  of 
the  Poor,  kept  these  records,  as  it  does  with  the  loose  character  of  the 
relationship  between  these  private  charities,  and  the  general  lack  of  co- 
operative effort  between  them  for  a  real  solution  of  the  problems  of  the 
community.  The  following  chapter  concerns  the  work  of  the  private 
agencies. 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Privately  Organized  Philanthropies  of  the  Borough  of  Princeton. 

In  the  course  of  the  investigation  for  this  study  endeavor  was  made 
to  secure  a  statement  of  the  financial  outlay  of  the  institutions  in  the 
Borough  that  conducted  work  in  the  nature  of  relief  or  of  general  social 
service.     These  organizations  were  asked  to  submit  statements  concern- 

—  62  — 


ing  the  money  and  other  outlay  for  charitable  purposes  during  the  year. 
The  statements  were  submitted  as  covering  the  year  ending  April,  1&16. 
The  expenditures  are  classed  under  the  heads  of  Relief  and  of  General 
Social  Service,  and  are  as  follows : 


TABLE  XXIV 

Appropriations  from  Private  Sources  for  Poor  Relief  and 
General  Social  Service,  1915-1916. 


Relief 

General  Social  Service 

Episcopal  Church 

First  Presbyterian  Church .... 
Second  Presbyterian  Church. . . 
Methodist  Church 

Village  Improvement  Soc 

$835  (not     counting    clothes,     fuel, 
Christmas  gifts) 
572. 
556. 

150  (Not   counting   clothing,    gro- 
ceries) 
50 

2037.23  (Nursing) 

Women's  Employment  Soc. . . . 

125. 

150  (for    coal,    but    not    inc.    gro- 
ceries and  clothing) 
400 

3207.64 

Anti-Tuberculosis  Soc 

97. 

1670  (unemployment  relieO 

100  (Not    including   clothes) 
600. 

Dorothea  Settlement  House. .  . 

1090. 

Colored  Y.  M.  C.A 

1263  94 

Society  Protection  Cruelty  to 
Animals 

150. 

Princeton  Branch,  N.J.  Chil- 

427 . 50 

Totals. 

$5305. 

$8176.31 

From  the  foregoing  statement  of  the  money  spent  by  these  private 
organizations,  including  churches,  settlement,  and  other  agencies,  it  does 
not  appear  that  there  is  any  stint  to  the  private  giving  in  the  community. 
Moreover,  the  list  of  relief  giving  agencies  is  by  no  means  complete. 
The  charity  work  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  of  the  three  colored 
churches  is  not  included ;  nor  is  that  of  private  individuals  who  give  per- 
sonally and  not  through  any  agency.  It  would  be  impossible  to  ascertain 
amounts  given  in  this  latter  way,  although  there  is  reason  for  believing 
that  it  is  large.  It  should  be  stated,  too,  that  during  this  time  the  Prince- 
ton Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross  was  acquiring  the  enviable  repu- 
tation of  being  the  best  supported  organization  of  any  of  its  size  in  the 
country.  This  fact  is  mentioned  because  it  means  that  the  private  local 
philanthropies  were  suffering  somewhat  through  the  great  demands  of 
the  Red  Cross.  The  colored  Y.  M.  C.  A.  especially  has  suffered  during 
war  years.  However,  the  outstanding  fact  remains  that  not  including  all 
agencies  contributing  to  relief,  nor  all  the  personal  gifts,  clothes,  gro- 
ceries, fuel,  etc.,  contributed  by  the  agencies,  whose  financial  outlay  is 
stated  in  the  table,  nor  the  public  appropriation  for  relief  by  the  Bor- 
ough Council — over  $5,300  was  devoted  for  material  relief  by  the 
citizens  of  Princeton  in  a  single  year.  This  is  a  comparatively  large 
sum  for  the  size  of  the  community,  and  suggests  that  the  most  expert 
service  in  investigation,  diagnosis  of  problems,  and  treatment  should 
be  demanded  by  donors  in  the  expenditure  of  this  money;  and  further 
it  is  suggested  that  the  closest  sort  of  friendly  cooperation  should  exist 
between  the  different  relief-giving  agencies.  One  fears  in  looking 
over  the  situation  that  such  standards  are  not  realized  to  the  extent 
that  they  should  be.  Such  suspicion  is  aggravated  by  the  frequent 
appearance  in  the  weekly  town  paper  of  weak  and  sentimental  appeals 
from  one  society  in  the  community  for  shoes,  clothes,  and  money  to 


—  63  — 


aid  families  whom  other  societies  in  the  community  may  feel  should 
not  be  given  such  aid,  but  some  form  of  more  constructive  treatment. 
One  such  irresponsible,  unintelligent  agency,  doling  out  money, 
groceries  or  clothes  can  keep  the  whole  community  marking  time, 
when  it  should  be  advancing  towards  a  solution  of  its  charity  problems. 

The  following  is  a  type  of  such  appeal: 

Copy  of  Appeal  of  Sunshine  Society  for  Funds,  Printed  in  the 
Princeton  "Press"  March  9,  1917. 

"This  is  certainly  the  season  of  the  year  when  it  becomes  necessary 
'to  be  a  friend  to  man.'  Always  it  is  these  months  of  February  and 
March  when  the  holiday  season  being  over,  there  is  nothing  to  hope  for 
in  the  way  of  gifts,  very  little  to  be  obtained  in  the  way  of  outdoor  work, 
when  everything  in  the  way  of  food  is  at  its  highest  price,  when  the  chil- 
dren's Christmas  (  !)'  shoes  and  rubbers  are  nearly  worn  out,  and  the 
savings  are  well  nigh  exhausted,  when  everything  is  at  its  lowest  ebb 
financially,  and  yet  the  home  has  to  be  kept  up,  the  children  warmed, 
clothed  and  fed,  it  is  at  this  season  of  the  year  that  Sunshine  has  to 
step  in  and  carry  a  few  of  the  burdens  that  are  so  heavy  to  bear.  But 
Sunshine  has  no  funds  from  which  to  draw,  so  she  naturally  turns  to 
those  who  are  her  constant  friends  to  help  her  to  keep  on  being  Sun- 
shine; to  enable  her  to  shed  a  few  sunbeams  into  these  dark  corners. 
Several   of   these  dark  corners  were   revealed  to   us   last   week.     So  we 

asked  Mrs. and  Miss to  come  to  our  rescue.    Then  Miss and 

Miss responded   to   our  petition   for  rice  and  sugar;   thus   we  were 

enabled  to  supply  these  strenuous  needs ;  but  there  are  many  more  such. 
Will  some  one  else  come  to  our  help  for  those  who  will  come  next 
week? 

"Since  our   last   letter   in  January,  we  have   received  $5   frorn  , 

also   contributions   from   Mrs. ,  and   a  large  package  of  clothing   for 

a  little  boy  from  Mrs. ,  Mrs. ,  Mrs. ,  and  Mrs. have  kindly 

sent  women's  shoes  for  special  cases,  and  Mrs. also  brought  a  coat. 

We  have  also  received  $10  for  our  shoe  bill.    We  regret  that  the  names 

of   Miss and   Mrs. were  inadvertently  omitted  from  our  list  of 

Christmas  givers.     Mass sent  us  a  coat,  and  one  dollar  for  Christmas 

cheer,  while  Mrs. gave  two  dolls,  and  some  children's  books  for  the 

Christmas  tree. 

"We  need  shoes  for  little  girls  and  hoys  between  five  and  nine  years 
of  age;  also,  two  warm  coats.  More  shoes  for  women,  a  pair  of  shoes 
and  a  heavy  overcoat  for  a  man  who  does  outdoor  work ;  a  coat  for  an 
eleven  year  girl   who   is  quite  tall.     We  have  had  no,  response  for  the 

little  paralyzed  girl  except  Mr. 's  tricycle  and  nothing  for  the  music 

lessons  since  Christmas.  These  lessons  you  will  remember  were  being 
given  to  the  blind  boy,  that  may  be  enabled  to  earn  his  living  thereby. 
Please  do  not  forget  either  of  these  two  "little  ones."  Now  is  the  only 
time  to  help  them;  for  the  little  girl  should  have  everything  required 
now  for  her  recovery  or  else  it  will  be  too  late  and  her  entire  life  will 
be  blighted.  Surely  in  this  town  that  is  so  freely  sending  relief  by  the 
thousands  abroad,  it  is  not  asking  too  much  to  raise  two  hundred  dollars 
towards  what  is  needed  for  permanent  relief  to  these  children  at  our 
doors." 


Chairman  of  the  Sunshine  Society. 
1.     The  exclamation  mark  and  italics  are  the  writer's. 

—  64  — 


In  criticism  of  this  appeal  it  should  not  be  understood  that  there 
is  no  legitimate  use  of  the  press  in  making  known  the  charitable  needs 
of  the  community,  though  on  general  principles  it  can  be  said  the  smaller 
the  community  the  less  desirable  is  it  to  name  specific  cases  of  need. 
The  chief  criticism  of  the  above  are  that  it  is  the  expression  of  no  con- 
certed effort  on  the  part  of  a  number  of  people;  and  that  the  whole  tone 
of  it  is  such  as  to  lead  to  the  pauperization  of  the  needy  in  the  com- 
munity. 


General  Social  Service. 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  table  presented  on  page  63  that  six  social 
service  agencies  spent  in  a  year  $8,176.31.  It  is  probable  that  this  money, 
spent  not  for  relief,  but  for  general  social  service  including  nursing,  is 
more  wisely  administered  than  relief  funds ;  that  is  to  say,  the  aims  are 
more  constructive,  and  the  means  better  adapted  to  the  ends. 

For  example,  in  contrast  to  methods  employed  in  some  of  the  private 
relief  agencies,  the  Visiting  Nurse  Committee  of  the  Village  Improve- 
ment Society  publishes  a  careful  statement  of  its  activities,  including  an 
audited  financial  statement,  list  of  calls  made,  services  rendered,  and  of 
donators.  This  organization  with  its  visiting  nurse  appears  to  be  doing 
the  most  constructive  piece  of  social  service  in  the  community.  Its 
budget  for  nursing  work  was  in  the  year  in  question,  $2,037.23.  It  is 
unfortunate  that  it  could  not  have  been  given  some  of  the  funds  that 
are  dissipated  in  indiscriminate  relief  and  unaccounted  for  by  some  of 
the  other  agencies.  It  is  certain  that  ill  health  is  one  of  the  fundamental 
and  yet  preventable  causes  of  dependency  in  the  community,  and  it  would 
be  a  great  boon  to  the  social  welfare  of  the  borough  if  there  were  two  or 
three  nurses  instead  of  one.  If  certain  paring  down  of  contributions  to 
other  less  useful  organizations  could  be  effected,  this  additional  nursin<3: 
work  could  be  provided  for  without  additional  financial  outlay.  And 
as  a  general  proposition  it  can  be  truly  stated  that  the  greater  amount  of 
efficient  work  done  by  constructive  social  agencies  in  the  fields  of  health, 
nursing,  employment,  recreation,  child  care,  and  so  on,  the  less  will  the 
community  have  to  spend  for  relief  in  the  form  of  clothing,  groceries, 
etc.  The  former  kind  of  work  requires  intelligence,  cooperation,  insight, 
while  the  latter  appears  to  be  often  an  easy  way  of  postponing  problems. 
Not  until  the  efforts  of  the  community  are  more  largely  directed  in  the 
former  direction  can  there  be  permanent  gain  in  community  welfare. 
Distress  is  symptomatic  of  deeper  difficulties  which  the  citizens  must 
uproot  by  scientific  study  and  treatment. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  Table  XXIV  on  page 63  the  sum  spent  for 
general  social  service  by  Dorethea  House  is  less  than  the  sum  spent 
for  relief  purposes.  This  is  probably  not  a  usual  distribution  of  funds  be- 
tween the  two  objects,  but  means  that  in  the  year  represented  by  the  fig- 
ures the  Dorethea  House  attempted  to  relieve  distress  among  Italians 
caused  by  severe  conditions  of  unemployment.  The  general  theory  and 
practice  of  community  centers  such  as  Dorethea  House  is  not  to  make 
them  relief  dispensing  agencies ;  yet  it  is  probable  that  more  would  have 
been  lost  in  the  way  of  prestige  and  influence  if  the  Dorethea  House  had 
not  done  anything  to  help  in  the  crisis,  than  was  lost  through  the  sac- 
rifice of  a  general  principle. 

—  65  — 


A  statement  of  the  nature  of  this  relief  work  of  Dorcthea  House 
done  during  the  winter  of  1914-1915  is  contained  in  a  report  dated  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1916: 

"In  the  winter  of  1914-1915  on  account  of  the  general  unemploy- 
ment of  the  men,  contributions  were  asked  from  the  people  of  Princeton 
to  pay  these  men  10c  an  hour  to  roll  bandages  for  the  Red  Cross.  Enough 
money  was  raised  to  keep  the  men  working  for  three  months,  and  they 
came  to  Dorcthea  House  every  morning  for  three  hours,  thus  earning  30c 
a  day.  Almost  14.000  bandages  were  made,  besides  many  thousands  of 
surgical   dressings." 

Against  the  above  policy  it  might  be  argued  that  the  sum  earned  by 
the  rnen  was  so  paltry  as  not  to  be  enough  for  even  self  maintenance, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  maintenance  of  their  families;  and  that  by  this 
sort  of  activity  the  community  is  lulled  into  believing  that  it  is  really  do- 
ing something  for  the  solution  of  the  unemployment  problem. 

With  regard  to  the  relief  giving  and  social  service  activities  of  the 
churches  it  may  be  said  that  they  do  not  cooperate  in  their  philaiUhrdn 
to  any  great  extent,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  four  churches  spent  for  re- 
lief over  $2,100  during  the  year  represented  by  the  table.  The  best  stan- 
dard in  social  work  attained  by  the  churches  of  the  community  are  prob- 
ably those  of  the  Episcopal  Church  which  employs  a  trained  worker.  It 
would  be  possible  to  work  out  a  program  of  cooperation  for  the  churches 
in  the  social  service  activities  so  as  to  obtain  an  economical  division  of 
labor,  and  greater  efficiency  in  reaching  the  community,  especially  the 
young  people.  But  such  a  program  would  require  a  spirit  of  cooperation 
among  the  people  of  the  different  churches.  The  remaining  part  of  our 
study  of  poor  relief  will  be  directed  towards  a  discussion  of  the  work 
in  Princeton  of  the  New  Jersey  Children's  Home  Society,  and  to  certain 
problems  of  Degeneracy  which  Princeton,  like  all  communities,  is  con- 
fronted with,  and  which  are  closely  bound  up  with  poverty  conditions. 


—  66  — 


CHAPTER  III. 
Princeton  Cases  of  the  New  Jersey  Children's  Home  Society. 

The  work  among  children  of  Princeton  families  carried  on  by  the 
New  Jersey  Children's  Home  Society  falls  into  two  parts ;  those  cases 
where  the  children  are  taken  as  wards  of  the  society,  and  those  cases 
where  investigation  is  made,  and  some  action  usually  taken,  but  the  chil- 
dren are  not  made  wards  of  the  society.  The  latter  cases  are  the  more 
numerous,  and  attention  will  first  be  directed  to  them. 

Cases  in  Which  the  Children  Are  Not  Taken  As  Wards. 


From  1907  to  April  1917  40  different  families  were  investigated,  the 
welfare  of  children  being  involved.  One  family  was  concerned  on  two 
occasions,  once  in  1908  and  once  in  1916,  thus  making  41  different  inves- 
tigations. The  number  of  children  in  these  families  was  110,  possibly 
counting  one  child  twice,  as  appearing  in  the  two  instances  of  the  same 
family,  which  had  1  child  in  1908  and  4  children  in  1916.  The  race  or 
nationality  of  these  families,  and  the  number  of  children  in  each  group 
were  as  follows : 

15  White  American  families,  involving   35  children 

16  Colored    families,    involving    45  children 

4  Italian    families,    involving    9  children 

1   .  Hungarian    family,    involving    1  child 

5  families  of  unknown  race  or  nationality,  involving  20  children 

41  instances  110  children 

The  cause  of  the  society's  interference,  the  race  or  nationality  of  the 
families  in  the  different  cases,  the  action  taken,  can  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing table  of  data  presented  by  the  society : 


—  67 — 


TABLE   XXV 

Showing  Causes  of  41  Invcstltiations  In  40  Families  by  N.  J.  Children's  Home  Society, 

Disposition  of  Cases;  also  Race  of  Family 


Race  or 

No.  of 

Cause  of  Society's 

Disposition  of 

Case  No. 

Nationality 

Children 
Involved 

Interference 

Case 

1 

White 

1 

Illegitimacy 

Boarding  Place  Found 

2 

Colored 

1 

Illegitimacy,  Mother  immoral 

Grandmother  takes  child 

3 

White 

3 

Father  deserted 

4 

White 

3 

Parents    Dead.    1    child    feeble 
minded. 

5 

Colored 

8 

Father    deserted.    Mother    im- 
moral. Home  filthy. 

6 

Colored 

3 

Parents   separated.   Abandoned 
by  father,  who  remarries  big- 
amously.    Children  neglected. 

7 

Home  filthy.   Mother  immoral. 
1  girl  in  State  Home. 

8 

Italian 

5 

Father  crippled.  Mother  dead. 

Taken  in  charge  by 
Roman  Catholics 

9 

White 

2 

Parents  dead. 

N.    J.    C.    H.    Society 
offered  to  take  children 

10 

Colored 

4 

Temporary  care  given 

11 

White 

4 

Father    deserted.     Never    pro- 
vided. 

Warrant  for  arrest  of 
man  and  case  turned 
over  to   Bishop    .... 

12 

Colored 

1 

Abandoned  by  mother.  Child  in 

Attempt  to  make  mother 

13 
14 

6 
1 

bad  health. 

support  child. 

Father  immoral 

15 

Italian 

1 

Boy  unmanageable.   Home  un- 
suitable. 

Roman  Catholics  take 
care  of. 

16 

Colored 

3 

Parents  dead.  Boy  runs  streets. 

Could  not  find  boy. 

17 

White 

3 

Father  abused  children. 

Father  arrested. 

18 

White 

6 

Father  does  not  provide. 

Warned  by  letter. 

19 

White 

1 

Illegitimate  child. 

Mother  arrested  with 
man  she  lives  with. 

20 

White 

4 

Man  a  drunkard.   Question  of 
legality  of  marriage. 

Many  investigations. 

21 

White 

1 

Father  drinks.  Does  not  support. 

Warned. 

22 

Colored 

1 

Parents  dead. 

23 

10 

Case  postponed. 

24 

3 

Parents'    habits   bad.    Children 
neglected. 

Warned. 

25 

Colored 

1 

Child    Illegitimate.    Father  un- 
known. 

Guardian  will  not  give 
up  child. 

26 

White 

2 

Woman  had  just  given  birth  to 
child — no  place  to  go. 

Got  place  for  woman  to 
work. 

27 

Italian 

1 

Left  alone  by  father  too  much. 
Child  poorly  clothed. 

Neglect  not  proved. 
Catholic  Soc'y  takes. 

28 

Colored 

5 

Father  deserted.  Mother  feeble 
minded. 

Given  Binet  test. 

29 

White 

1 

Parents    intemperate    and    ne- 
glectful. House  overrun  with 
vermin.    Mother   young   and 
inexperienced. 

Father  warned  to  get 
better  house.  Advised 
minister  to  get  nurse 
to  instruct  Mother  in 
care  of  baby. 

30 

Colored 

1 

Illegitimate    child.     Neglected. 
Father  a  white  man.  Woman 
had  former  illegitimate  child. 

Found  place  where 
Mother  could  take 
child. 

31 

Hungarian 

1 

Vagrant  boy. 

Referred  to  Catholic 
Society  who  placed 
boy  in  orphanage. 

32 

White 

2 

Parents  living  apart. 

33 

Italian 

2 

Man  and  niece  living  immorally. 

Referred  to  Prosecutor. 

34 

Colored 

1 

Mother  dead.  Father  deserted. 

Suggested  to  refer  to  N. 
J.  Board  Children's 
Guardians. 

35 

Colored 

1 

Mother  dead.  Father  old. 

Society  boards  child. . 

36 

Colored 

2 

Mother  drinks.  Immoral.  Oldest 
girl  to  give  birth  to  illegitimate 
child. 

Binet  test  for  youngest 
child  who  is  feeble 
minded. 

37 

White 

1 

Mother  dead.  Father  deserted. 
Boy  feeble  minded. 

Boy  taken  by  grand- 
father. 

38  (Same 

Colored 

4 

Parents  separated.  Mother  im- 

Left    with     attendance 

as  2) 

moral.   Neglect. 

officer. 

39 

Colored 

2 

Mother    drinks.    Children    ne- 
glected. 

Conditions  improve. 

40 

Colored 

1 

Parents  dead.  Girl  accuses  aunt. 

Found  girl  had  lied. 

41 

Colored 

7 

Mother  and  child  feeble  minded. 

3  children  given  Binet 
test  and  found  feeble 
minded. 

Cases  in  Which  Investigation  Was  Made  and  Children  Made  Wards 
of  N.  J.  Children's  Home  Society. 

Between  June  24,  1897,  and  June  30,  1916,  the  New  Jersey  Children's 
Home  Society  investigated  9  Princeton  families  and  took  from  them  15 
children  as  wards  of  the  Society.  6  of  these  families  were  White  Amer- 
ican, 2  were  colored,  and  in  one  case  the  parents  were  English-Scotch. 
The  conditions  which  caused  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Society  were 
as  follows:  1.  Desertion  of  father.  2.  Unknown,  or  not  stated.  3. 
Mother  dead,  father  deserted.  4.  Mother  dead.  5.  Children  deserted 
by  both  parents.  6.  Father  in  prison,  parents  separated.  7.  Mother  in 
jail,  father  deserted.  8.  Mother  dead,  father  intemperate.  9.  Father 
intemperate.  Eight  of  these  Princeton  children  were  under  care  of  the 
Society  in  the  early  part  of  1917.  Six  had  become  of  age,  and  one  had 
died. 

Of  the  41  families  where  investigation  was  made  by  the  society,  but 
the  children  not  taken  as  wards,  27  came  under  the  attention  of  the  Society 
during  or  since  1912.  Of  the  9  families  from  which  children  were  taken 
as  wards,  3  came  under  the  supervision  of  the  Society  in  1916.  This 
means  that  the  Princeton  work  of  the  Society  has  increased  in  recent 
years. 

The  conclusion  from  this  data  concerning  family  dissolution  and 
child  dependency  would  seem  to  be  that  there  is  need  in  the  community 
for  a  greater  amount  of  attention  to  these  problems,  especially  from  the 
angle  of  child  welfare.  The  New  Jersey  Children's  Home  Society  has 
excellent  representation  in  the  Borough,  but  obviously  matters  go  pretty 
far,  before  the  Society  takes  a  hand.  It  is  possible  that  a  small  Child 
Welfare  Committee  could  be  advantageously  established.  On  this  com- 
mittee could  serve  the  Princeton  representative  of  the  Society,  as  well 
as  other  citizens.  The  work  of  such  a  committee  could  be  largely  pre- 
ventive. That  is,  by  keeping  in  close  touch  with  schools  and  community 
conditions  as  to  recreation,  child  labor,  health,  etc.,  this  committee  might 
forestall  the  development  of  conditions  which  lead  to  child  delinquency 
and  dependency.  Of  course,  what  we  have  here  in  these  Society  cases 
are  family  problems,  not  alone  child  problems.  This  being  so,  the  ideal 
institution  for  dealing  with  such  cases  would  be  a  court  of  domestic 
relations.  Whether  the  functions  of  the  Mayor's  court  in  Princeton  could 
be  so  extended  as  to  allow  of  more  radical  treatment  of  these  domestic 
and  child  problems  in  Princeton,  without  taking  the  cases  to  the  County 
court  in  Trenton,  is  a  question  for  legal  authority  to  determine.  At  any 
rate,  if  it  is  not  possible  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  the  Borough  court, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  wide  awake  citizens  of  the  Borough  should  riot 
endeavor  to  have  established  in  Trenton  a  court  of  domestic  relations. 
The  trend  of  things  is  to  combine  child  and  domestic  problems,  so  far 
as  they  are  subject  to  court  action,  into  one  court  which  has  jurisdiction 
over  child  delinquency  and  dependency,  desertion,  non-support,  illegitimacy 
and  other  family  cases. 


—  69 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Defective  Types. 

There  are  living  within  tlie  Borough,  or  just  outside  the  limits  of  the 
Borough,  a  number  of  families,  mostly  vvliite,  who  appear  to  be  of  de- 
fective inheritance.  The  problem  of  the  mentally  defective  is  assuming 
large  proportions  in  current  discussions.  Hardly  any  old,  well-established 
community  is  without  some  of  these  types.  They  present  the  most  seri- 
ous problems  of  dependency  and  delinquency,  and  ordinary  measures  of 
relief  and  aid  seem  not  to  avail.  The  data  presented  in  this  section  is 
fragmentary  in  character,  yet  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  presence  of 
defective  types  in  the  community,  and  the  need  of  further  information 
concerning  them.     The  data  is  taken  from  the  following  sources : 

1.  Written  statements  of  social  workers,  concerning  family  histories 
and  relationships. 

2.  The  Mayor's  "jag  list."  (Those  to  whom  liquor  may  not  be  sold). 

3.  Records  of  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  1914-1917. 

4.  Police  records  of  arrests. 

5.  School    records    of    backward    children,    and   of   those    in    special 
grades. 

6.  Records  of  New  Jersey  Children's  Home  Society. 

In  most  cases  the  evidence  is  cumulative  from  two  or  more  of  these 
sources;  and  a  more  thoroughgoing  eugenic  study  would  but  confirm  the 
facts  here  presented. 

Family 

I.  Father  on  the  "jag  list."  Whole  family  "not  up  to  much." 
Daughters  beheved  to  be  sub-normal.  The  father's  brother,  and 
brother's  son  on  "jag  list."  The  brother  recently  arrested  for 
burglary. 

n.  Wife  is  daughter  of  I.  The  wife  of  low  mentality.  Her  hus- 
band is  alcoholic,  and  has  been  arrested  for  stealing,  and  served 
prison  sentence. 

in.  Wife  a  daughter  of  I.  The  man  seems  normal  and  industrious. 
8  children.  Oldest  boy  normal.  One  daughter  has  had  2  illegit- 
imate children,  and  2  of  the  other  children  are  dull  and  back- 
ward in  school. 

IV.  Wife  a  daughter  of  I.  Husband  "usually  in  jail."  Son  recent- 
ly imprisoned  for  theft.  Husband's  sister  lives  with  them  and 
appears  defective. 
V.  The  wife  in  this  family  a  sister  to  husband  in  IV.  Daughter 
has  had  one  illegitimate  child.  Another  daughter,  described  as 
"ignorant  and  lazy"  married  son  of  family  VII.  Husband  a 
tuberculosis  suspect. 

VI.  Husband  a  brother  to  husband  in  V.  Has  served  term  for  rape 
on  his  daughter.  Wife  in  an  insane  asylum.  Two  daughters 
subnormal.     One  daughter  married  son  of  family  VIII. 

VII.  Husband  "respectable  and  hard  working";  wife  deceased.  One 
son  married  daughter  of  V,  and  is  a  "lazy  loafer."  Two  in- 
telligent and  normal  daughters  married  to  form  families 
VIII  and   IX. 

—  70  — 


VIII.  Wife  a  daughter  of  VII,  Husband  "absolutely  no  good."  Two 
eldest  sons  "not  much  good."  Eldest  daughter  is  epileptic  and 
has  no  palate. 

IX.  Wife  a  daughter  of  VII.  Husband  alcoholic.  Six  children, 
one  of  whom  died  of  tuberculosis,  and  two  others  are  con- 
tinually out  of  school. 

X.  Wife  the  epileptic  daughter  of  VIII.  6  children.  Two  eldest 
boys  delinquent,  and  one  smaller  girl  a  tuberculosis  suspect. 

IT  WILL  BE  NOTED  THAT  THE  INTERRELATIONSHIP 
THROUGH  MARRIAGE  OR  DIRECT  DESCENT  RUNS  THROUGH 
FAMILIES  I  TO  X. 

XI.  Husband  on  the  "jag  list";  is  recently  out  of  jail  for  stealing; 
son  in  a  reformatory.  Wife  is  related  to  husband  in  family 
XII. 

XII.  Husband  alcoholic.  15  children.  Wife  is  a  sister  to  husband 
in  XIII. 

XIII.  Wife  a  sister  to  husband  in  XII.  Husband  has  "spells"  and  is 
"no  good."  Son  in  jail  for  theft.  Children  probably  sub- 
normal. 

XIV.  Husband  separated  from  one  wife,  and  is  on  probation  for  con- 
sorting with  16  year  old  daughter  of  family  XIII. 

FAMILIES  XI  TO  XIV  INTERRELATED. 

XV.  "An  immoral  family."  Two  children  dull  and  backward  in 
school. 

XVI.  Cousins  to  family  XV.  Two  children  dull  and  backward  in 
school. 

XVII.  Mother  of  this  family  has  unsavory  reputation  as  an  unlicensed 
mid-wife  about  town,  and  is  suspected  of  using  her  daughters 
How  at  home  for  immoral  purposes.  The  oldest  boy  has  served 
a  prison  sentence.  The  house  is  regarded  as  a  menace  to  the 
corrununity  by  neighbors  and  others  that  know  of  conditions. 
The  mother  and  daughters  are  believed  to  be  mentally  or 
morally  defective  or  both.  One  daughter  is  wife  in  family 
XVIII. 

XVIII.  Wife  is  daughter  of  family  XVII,  and  is  an  immoral,  unques- 
tionably subnormal  woman.  She  has  8  children,  but  is  not 
living  with  her  husband  but  with  an  Italian.  One  child  now  in 
school  is  four  years  retarded;  other  children  were  backward 
while  in  school.  This  woman  and  her  children  constantly  be- 
fore the  borough  for  charitable  aid.  Much  has  been  given 
them.  Woman  recently  left  town  with  all  her  children  because 
authorities  had  court  order  to  take  her  children  away  on 
grounds  of  neglect.  Many  investigations  by  N.  J.  Children's 
Home  Society.    Three  children  given  Binet  test,  1916. 

XIX.  Husband  is  "rotten."  On  "jag  list"  and  on  probation  for  fight- 
ing.   Two  children  irt  hospital  with  tuberculosis. 


—  71 


XX.     Husband  alcoholic.     Two  children  border  line  feeble  minded 
cases,  one  of  whom  is  3  years  retarded  in  school. 

XXI.  Mother  drunken  and  immoral.  Boy  feeble  minded  with  crim- 
inal record.  Application  made  for  getting  boy  into  Vineland 
Training  School   for  Feeble-Minded. 

XXII.     Colored  family.     Mother  and  son  appear  feeble-minded.     Boy 

has   been    in    state    reformatory,    returned   and    is    falling   into 

former   habits.      Father    deserted,   and    family    investigated   by 

^  N.  J.  Children's  Home  Society  in  1915.     Mother  given  Binet 

test. 

XXni.  Colored  family.  Daughter  16  years  old,  has  never  advanced 
beyond  5th  grade  in  school.  She  has  had  two  illegitimate  chil- 
dren. In  1909  the  New  Jersey  Children's  Home  Society  re- 
ported on  this  family  as  follows:  "Father  deserted;  mother 
immoral;  home  filthy."  Records  of  Overseer  of  Poor  state 
that  one  boy  in  this  family  is  epileptic. 

XXIV.  Colored  family.  Two  daughters,  18  and  15  years  of  age  have 
both  given  birth  to  illegitimate  children.  Grandfathers  on 
both  sides  of  the  family  are  alcoholic.  P'amily  investigated  by 
N.  J.  Children's  Home  Society  in  1908  with  record  that  mother 
was  "bad,"  and  one  child  placed  with  grandmother.  Society 
investigated  again  in  1908  on  charge  of  immorality  of  mother. 
By  this  time  the  parents  were  separated  and  children  neglected. 
Home  conditions  filthy  beyond  description.  Undoubtedly 
mother  and  daughters  are  feeble-minded. 

XXV.  Italian  family.  Mother  and  father  are  uncle  and  niece.  Man 
prosecuted  by  N.  J.  Children's  Home  Society  in  1915.  The 
child  is  deformed  and  is  dull  and  backward  in  school. 

XXVI.  Father  died  in  an  insane  asylum.  Two  daughters  now  in  in- 
sane asylum.  One  being  partially  supported  there  by  local 
philanthropy.  Two  sons  drunkards  and  on  the  "jag  list."  One 
recently  arrested  for  conducting  "blind  pig."  The  child  of  one 
of  these  sons  recently  escaped  from  state  tuberculosis  hospital. 
The  father  of  this  child  is  described  in  records  of  Overseer 
of   Poor  as  tuberculosis  "suspect." 

XXVII.  Mother  the  insane  daughter  of  family  XXVI.  The  husband  is 
alcoholic  and  on  "jag  list."  Children  suspected  of  being  men- 
tally defective.    One  is  four  years  retarded  in  school. 

XXVIII.  Son  of  family  VII.  Had  infantile  paralysis  when  a  child;  but 
is  capable  of  doing  some  work  though  does  none.  Wife  is 
daughter  of  family  V,  and  is  described  as  "lazy  and  ignorant." 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  the  foregoing  analysis  gives  a  complete 
social  history  of  these  28  families;  nor  that  further  investigation  would 
not  reveal  mental  defectiveness  associated  with  inbreeding  among  other 
families  that  are  known  to  the  social  agencies  of  the  community.  The 
object  of  the  analysis  is  rather  to  suggest  the  need  for  further  investiga- 
tion, and  for  some  rational  policy  for  dealing  with  defective  tpyes.  From 
February,  1915,  to  March,  1917,  a  total  number  of  87  names  appeared  on 
the  Mayor's  "jag  list,"  many  of  them  added  month  by  month  throughout 
this  period.  In  March,  1917,  there  were  51  pupils  in  the  Grammar  School, 
retarded  all  the  way  from  6  to  3  years;  and  the  corresponding  number 


72  — 


in  the  Witherspoon  School  (colored)  was  36.  We  have  already  noted 
the  evidence  showing  the  increase  in  public  and  private  expenditure  for 
relief  purposes  in  recent  years.  Part  of  this  increase  doubtless  goes  to 
subsidizing  these  degenerate  families.  The  problem  is  more  than  local, 
and  its  solution  awaits  more  adequate  provision  for  the  subnormal  and 
feeble-minded  on  the  part  of  the  state.  Meanwhile,  it  is  desirable  that 
more  use  be  made  by  the  social  workers  in  the  community  of  the  facili- 
ties for  mental  testing  offered  by  the  psychological  laboratory  of  Prince- 
ton University. 

CHAPTER  V. 
Summary  and  Suggestions  Pertaining  to  Public  and  Private  Charity. 

From  the  foregoing  discussion  it  would  appear  that  in  place  of  the 
rather  loosely  related  charitable  efforts  of  the  community,  both  public 
and  private,  a  definite  policy  of  co-operation  should  be  developed,  with 
a  view  towards  the  prevention  of  pauperization,  and  towards  the  upbuilding 
of  family  life  through  constructive  measures.  This  means  that  the  social 
worker  of  the  Village  Improvement  Society  who  now  acts  as  Overseer 
of  the  Poor,  and  keeps  the  records,  should  have  the  support  of  private 
individuals,  churches  and  other  organizations  giving  funds  or  materials 
for  relief.  Through  her  such  relief  should  be  dispensed.  The  problem  is 
sufficiently  small  to  permit  of  efficient  unity  in  the  work.  As  only  $60  a 
month  was  paid  to  this  worker  in  1917,  a  higher  remuneration  should  be 
provided  to  secure  the  best  services. 

Facilities  for  free  medical  assistance  should  be  greatly  increased, 
through  additional  nursing  work  of  the  Visiting  Nurse  Committee  of  the 
Village  Improvement  Society,  or  through  the  establishment  of  nursing 
service  in  connection  with  the  local  Board  of  Health.  Low  priced  dis- 
pensary service  should  be  provided,  and  the  practice  of  paying  the  Bor- 
ough Physician  $125  for  more  time  and  interest  than  he  can  afford  to 
give  at  such  a  small  remuneration  should  be  discontinued. 

It  might  be  desirable  to  draw  exclusively  upon  public  funds  for  actual 
relief  purposes,  leaving  to  private  funds  and  effort  Jhe  task  of  providing 
more  facilities  in  the  fields  of  health,  housing  and  recreation,  which  would 
prevent  destitution,  and  which  the  public  authorities  are  not  yet  ready  to 
undertake.  On  the  other  hand,  a  public  employment  agency  should  be  at 
once  established,  which  could  be  closely  correlated  with  state  and  federal 
agencies  in  the  field.  The  employment  work  of  the  social  worker  of  the 
Village  Improvement  Society  is  very  largely  concerned  with  furnishing 
of  maids  to  housewives,  whereas  destitution  is  more  closely  associated 
with  unemployment  among  men,  for  whom  there  is  no  effective  employ- 
ment agency  in  the  community. 

With  regard  to  the  evidence  concerning  defective  types  in  the  com- 
munity one  may  say  that  an  adequate  solution  of  the  problem  lies  far 
beyond  the  powers  of  any  single  community,  and  demands  more  pro- 
vision by  state  authorities  for  compulsory  supervision  or  segregation  of 
subnormal  persons.  Meanwhile,  the  good  work  done  by  the  public  schools 
of  the  Borough,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Princeton  University  De- 
partment of  Psychology,  in  giving  mental  tests,  and  providing  separate 
classes  for  the  backward  children  should  be  continued.  At  the  same 
time  the  giving  of  doles  to  defective  families  by  various  individuals  and 
organizations  working  independently  should  be  discouraged.  Sporadic, 
unorganized   relief   is  extravagant,  inefficient,  and  pauperizing.     By  con- 

—  73  — 


tinuing  with  such  methods  the  budget  for  relief  might  still  go  on  increas- 
ing, as  we  have  seen,  and  still  the  community  mark  time. 

The  practice  of  making  the  social  worker  of  the  Village  Improvement 
Society  the  Overseer  of  the  Poor  is  a  desirable  one,  in  that  it  makes  for 
unit}^  and  there  is  not  enough  work  for  two  full  time  officials.  It  would 
be  desirable  to  make  the  records  used  in  the  work  even  more  full,  and 
family  histories  even  more  complete,  in  the  manner  suggested  in  this 
study,  so  that  the  wisest  possible  action  may  be  taken  in  the  difficult  cases 
of  mental  and  moral  deficiency.  The  digest  of  records  for  a  period  of 
over  two  years,  included  in  this  study,  shows  fragmentary  results,  largely 
because  the  records  themselves  are  fragmentary. 

In  conclusion,  it  can  be  said  that  the  willingness  of  the  citizens  to 
spend  money,  both  out  of  the  public  treasury  and  from  private  donations, 
augurs  well  for  the  establishment  of  a  type  of  organization  for  all  com- 
munity agencies  that  will  provide  a  sound  financial  basis  and  assure  the 
utmost  co-operation  and  efficiency  in  methods.  With  sound  community 
organization  for  dealing  with  problems  it  might  appear  that  some  agencies 
could  be  dispensed  with,  either  because  they  are  inefficient  or  superfluous ; 
those  that  remained  would  be  of  proved  value,  and  their  effectiveness 
would  be  increased. 


—  74  — 


CONCLUSION. 

It  is  not  the  pui-pose  in  this  Conclusion  to  repeat  in  detail  the 
summaries  already  presented  in  the  various  sections  of  this  study,  but 
rather  to  make  a  few  broad  suggestions  concerning  its  general  sig- 
nificance. By  far  the  larger  proportion  of  the  American  people  live 
either  in  rural  communities,  under  2500,  or  in  small  towns  under  10,- 
000  inhabitants.  Nevertheless,  social  conditions  in  the  smaller  towns 
have  received  less  attention  than  they  Warrant.  Conditions  in  the 
large  cities,  on  the  other  hand,  have  been  frequently  set  forth,  and 
elaborate  social  agencies  have  developed  to  cope  with  them.  A 
reasonable  conclusion  would  be  that  in  the  coming  years  much  more 
effort  should  be  spent  upon  the  smaller  communities.  It  may  be  said 
that  such  effort  should  be  much  more  hopeful  and  effective  than  in 
the  larger  communities  where  the  problems  are  often  well-nigh  beyond 
control.  It  is  interesting  that  the  officials  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  are  at  present  considering  the  opportunities  in  the  smaller  com- 
munities for  social  work,  and  much  good  can  be  expected  from  their 
efforts.  This  does  not  mean  that  necessarily  the  Red  Cross  should 
be  the  agency  in  Princeton  to  develop  the  much  needed  social  pro- 
gram, though  it  might  well  become  such,  if  other  agencies  fail. 

Among  the  larger  cities  certain  ones  have  become  conspicuous 
for  progress  in  certain  fields  of  social  work.  New  types  of  organi- 
zation and  ^\■ork  are  developed  in  one  place  and  are  adopted  by  other 
cities.  The  smaller  towns  have  remained  somewhat  outside  the  pale 
of  this  development.  For  them  it  is  conceivable  that  the  small  col- 
lege communities  of  the  country  could  make  the  initiative.  The  col- 
legs  to  a  considerable  degree  are  reservoirs  of  knowledge  concerning 
what  constitutes  sound  community  life,  and  ways  and  means  for 
attaining  desirable  ends.  It  has  been  remarked  in  this  study  that  the 
psychological  laboratory  of  Princeton  University  has  been  of  valuable 
assistance  to  the  public  schools  in  performing  mental  tests.  It  is  a 
fact,  that  the  students  of  the  University  have  been  called  upon  to  assist 
in  meeting  the  recreational  needs  of  the  town  children.  The  faculty 
have  also  served  on  various  Borough  committees  and  boards  That 
they  have  not  always  been  able  to  achieve  more  results,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  local  Board  of  Health,  is  due  not  to  any  lack  of  knowledge  or 
disposition,  but  to  factors  beyond  their  control  If  a  community  wants 
leaders  it  must  Be  willing  to  be  led;  this  implies  in  the  case  of  a  college 
community  a  willing  spirit  of  cooperation  between  "town  and  gown." 
During  the  War  such  a  spirit  was  evoked  in  many  an  American  col- 
lege community  through  common  service  in  the  Red  Cross.  Again, 
through  common  membership  in  local  Chambers  of  Commerce  the  bus- 
iness and  professional  men  in  such  communities  have  become  aligned. 
If  once  a  community  of  interest  is  established  it  is  easy  to  direct 
it  towards  the  solution  of  civic  problems. 

All  this  involves,  to  be  sure,  a  somewhat  different  ideal  of  cul- 
ture from  what  prevails  in  some  of  our  university  centers;  an  ideal 
not  of  isolation  from  but  of  richer  participation  in  the  community 
life.  The  possibilities  for  group  achievment  in  art,  recreation 
housing,  town  planning,  and  health  are  but  slightly  realized  in  America 

—  75  — 


today  compared  with  what  might  be  done.  In  England  the  Garden 
City"  gives  us  light  and  leading.  Results  have  been  achieved  in  our 
large  cities  against  great  obstacles  in  certain  fields,  notably  in  com- 
munity provision  for  recreation,  and  in  the  reduction  of  infant  mortal- 
ity. The  smaller  communities  with  far  less  to  overcome  should  now 
make  greater  progress;  and  where  they  are  equipped  with  the  human 
and  matei-ial  resources  of  a  university  their  advance  should  be  distinc- 
tive. At  all  events,  there  is  here  indicated  a  very  definite  opportun- 
ity. Not  the  least  fortunate  outcome  of  such  conscious  cooperation 
between  the  college  and  the  community  would  be  its  effect  upon  the 
student  body  in  sending  them  abroad  throughout  the  land  to  build  up 
the  standards  of  an  American  civilization  that  is  to  be. 


76 


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